Parliament Separates Sports Ministry, Proposes Monthly PM Question Time
Thailand's House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to separate the Ministry of Sports from Tourism, merging Culture with Tourism instead. Lawmakers also debated amendments to parliamentary rules, with a key proposal requiring the Prime Minister to answer live questions in parliament once a month, addressing concerns that the PM has never participated in question sessions. Additional proposals aim to digitize parliamentary records and streamline debate procedures.
Parliament approved the principle of separating the Ministry of Sports from Tourism by a vote of 310 to 1 with 137 abstentions, before beginning deliberations on amendments to parliamentary meeting regulations. At 5:15 PM on November 11, 2026, at Parliament House, during the House of Representatives session chaired by House Speaker Sophon Sarom, the meeting concluded its first agenda item on the bill to reorganize ministries, departments, and agencies. The assembly voted to accept the principle of the bill separating the Ministry of Sports from Tourism while merging Culture with Tourism, and established an ad-hoc committee for further review.
The session then moved to consider amendments to parliamentary meeting regulations. MP Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn of the Kla Tham Party requested withdrawal of his proposed draft due to flaws needing revision. This left three draft amendments: from MP Prisit Watcharasin (Pheu Thai party-list), MP Natthawut Buaphram (Pheu Thai party-list), and MP Nikorn Jamnong (Bhumjaithai party-list). Speaker Sophon ordered all three drafts to be considered together as they shared similar principles.
MP Natthawut proposed converting meeting reports, committee reports, and voting records to electronic format to reduce paper use and advance a digital parliament. MP Prisit explained his proposal aimed to elevate the question process in parliament, noting the Prime Minister has never answered live questions even once, despite being the one who should set an example for ministers. He questioned how much weight ministers would give the Prime Minister's words when the PM treats parliament as a hobby, attending only when convenient.
Prist's proposed amendments include: granting the House Speaker authority to allocate additional live question quotas the following week if ministers fail to appear; removing the requirement for questioners to ask three questions in 15 minutes, instead allocating 15 minutes each for questioning and answering; allowing general and specific questions to be submitted online; and designating four live question sessions per parliamentary term, or once a month, specifically for the Prime Minister.
MP Nikorn proposed amendments including: counting the seven-day promulgation period as working days only, excluding weekends; reducing general question time from 30 to 20 minutes per question to avoid consuming parliamentary time; and adding a requirement under Section 8/1 for nominated Prime Minister candidates to present their vision to the parliamentary assembly, which was not previously specified. The floor was then opened for broad debate among members.
