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Published on October 3, 2007

"The sense of responsibility of members of the Cabinet will be the last resort to restore the government's dignity," the group said in a statement.

"We will monitor [the government's] behaviour and ethical standards and be ready to join forces to demand high moral standards, which were destroyed."

The group said the Surayud government should support the censure motion filed by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and agree to answer questions.

Somkiat Pongpaiboon, a member of the assembly, said the group postponed an anti-government rally scheduled for this weekend because it wanted to see if the NLA has strong evidence to grill the government and monitor ministers' reactions to the debate.

"If the government passes the debate, we will then let it govern the country. But if it cannot, the government should take responsibility," Somkait said, adding that the assembly would hold a meeting after the debate.

Meanwhile, NLA member Prasong Soonsiri praised the five Cabinet members who resigned when found with shareholdings over the legal limit.

He warned PM Surayud Chulanont to quit as soon as possible "or he could end up with a disaster on his hands".

Prasong, who submitted the censure motion on behalf of the NLA on the promotion of morality and ethics of office holders, said the government would have ample opportunity to clarify its position. "We want the government to answer questions. It is the right of the government to come or not to come. My duty is to scrutinise it, not create turmoil."

However, NLA Speaker Meechai Ruchuphan said he instructed the NLA whips to scrutinise the legitimacy of the censure motion to ensure the committee had the right to lodge such a motion.

"If the NLA whips say it is not legitimate, the motion will be rejected," Meechai said. He said he had instructed Prasong's secretary to correct the process, but the people concerned failed to do so.

Meechai said the motion could only be placed on the NLA agenda when it was processed legally. Many other motions were in the queue and the censure motion on ethics would have to wait its turn, he said. The NLA met on Wednesdays and Thursdays only, he said.

Although this motion was not a no-confidence motion, the debate would inevitably affect some Cabinet members, he said.

 The Nation