Opposition continues to rise to any move to appoint former Senate speaker Meechai Ruchuphan as chairman of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).

Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Political Science lecturer Chaiyan Chaiyaporn said the Chulalongkorn University Network to Uphold Moral Integrity for Democracy will today organise a press conference to oppose the move to appoint Meechai as the chairman of the NLA and against any plan to appoint legal expert Wissanu Krea-ngam and Borwornsak Uwanno. He said they served the Thaksin administration so they were unsuitable for any posts.

Campaign for Popular Democracy secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila, who has been campaigning hard against Meechai, said the former senate speaker would be the cause of social division in Thai society. "Even though the rift may not be as big as what happened during Thaksin's reign it will be hard to create social reconciliation,'' he said.

He questioned why the Council for National Security (CNS) was ignoring the voices against Meechai when it announced it wanted to create speedy social reconciliation in the country. "Society did not take the CNS to task for tearing up the constitution but pushing for Meechai to head the NLA will destroy the confidence and opportunity society has given it,'' Suriyasai said.

He said the CNS has dropped a model to select the Constitution Drafting Assembly proposed by academic groups and opted to use the one written by Meechai. He called on the CNS to reveal the model it has chosen to the public to create transparency and prevent allegations of a cover-up.

Maj-General Chamlong Srimuang, an NLA member, said it was not necessary that the chairman of the NLA was a legal expert. "Air Chief Marshall Harin Hongsakul was senate speaker and he was not a legal expert,'' Chamlong said.

Legal Specialist Club of Thailand chief Kritmet Engchuanthada distributed open letters to the press opposing the move to appoint Meechai as NLA head, reasoning Meechai's background in writing laws and amnesty for coup leaders made him unsuitable, while he had also served the Thaksin administration. If he was appointed to head the NLA, he might influence the drafting of the constitution in a way that would benefit vested interest groups.