Chamlong urged to set a new party

Chamlong said the two had also invited National Legislative Assembly member Purachai Piumsombun, a former Thai Rak Thai member, to form the new party.

Panlop had earlier revealed he would join the Rak Chat Party led by Kachit Hatnanont and he intended to contest the general election in Bangkok's Dusit district.

Chamlong said he had not decided whether to return to politics. He felt that although the Palang Dharma Party still had some supporters, it was not enough to be a significant force.

"We adhere strictly to the principle of no vote-buying because we want transparency. The limitation in the current situation is that money has great influence in politics," he said.

He said if he returned to politics, Palang Dharma's base could enable the new party to win about 40-50 votes, which is not enough to make it a leading coalition party.

"It is of no use to decide on setting up a new party in the near future, because the situation is not right," he said.

Noppadol Inna, secretary to Purachai, admitted that some political groups had approached the former minister to join them. But he denied that Manoonkrit and Panlop had asked Purachai to be the leader of the new party.

Purachai has not yet decided on his political future, he said.

"The deciding factor on which political group he will work with is whether it has a chance to be a political institution and not just a special-task party like he experienced before and from which he learned a big lesson," he said.

Kesinee Jaikawang

The Nation