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Published on August 30, 2007

An attempt by some members of the National Legislative Assembly to censure the interim government was aborted yesterday, as NLA speaker Meechai Ruchuphan insisted the new Constitution did not provide such a method to trouble the national administration.

"It is not possible to censure the government because the Constitution does not give legislators such authority," he said.

The NLA members, led by veteran Prasong Soonsiri, should instead concentrate on their legislative jobs and their workload, he said.

A group of about 20 NLA members close to Sondhi Limthongkul, and leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy - fierce opponents of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra - planned to launch a censure debate on the government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont.

They claimed Surayud had seriously failed in some aspects of national administration, particularly the probes into alleged fraud by the Thaksin government.

Most NLA members reportedly do not want to be involved with the Prasong group because they do not see the Surayud government - which will step down once the newly elected government assumes power early next year - as a failure.

Surayud had earlier criticised the Prasong group for attacking members of the

same body, which he said would soon die a natural death anyway.

Meanwhile, Prasong said Surayud should be open-minded and let the NLA do its job. Although the proposed NLA debate might not provide the members with authority to vote against ministers, he believed the public would derive some benefit as people would know what those ministers had achieved, if anything, during their administration.

NLA member Praphan Khoonmee, Prasong's aide, said governments could not avoid public scrutiny. Surayud and his ministers are no exception, he added.

The Nation