Nattapong’, leader of the Prachachon Party, insists on adhering to the original ideology, moving forward to amend Section 112 because the Constitutional Court does not prohibit it, but is not careless, and must study the law carefully because the current law still has problems.
Mr. Nattapong Ruangpanyawut, MP for the party list and leader of the Prachachon Party, gave an interview about the case of amending Section 112 of the Criminal Code. Will the ceiling be lowered? He said that we never communicated that we would lower the ceiling. We insist that we proposed the draft amendment to Section 112 of the law to prevent harassment of the opposing party. The court’s ruling did not prohibit the amendment. Of course, we are not careless. We do everything carefully. The Constitutional Court’s ruling that led to the dissolution of the Move Forward Party, we have to study it carefully. However, we think that we must push forward the amendment of the law, especially in this part where there are still problems at pre
sent.
Mr. Nattapong said that this is not a matter of us censoring to shut ourselves up. We proposed it based on principles. We did not aim to undermine or destroy any institution. According to the current constitution, we must adhere to the verdict of the Constitutional Court. We insist on moving forward with everything, but we must come back to study all the legal aspects.
‘Doing this duty or the Move Forward Party being dissolved, will it change our work or not? I think that our methods of operation are not careless. We have to come back to review and learn about the court’s decision and various legal issues. But what has not changed is the principle and belief. We want to make the highest power belong to the people,’ said Mr. Nattapong.
When asked about the case of 44 former Move Forward Party MPs that are currently under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Mr. Nattapong said that he thought the NACC’s request was different from a party dissolution because it was a court of law th
at had to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The actions of each MP might have different elements. Some might demand on behalf of the protesters, some might exercise their right to bail, but everyone had signed a proposal to amend Section 112, and each person had the right to explain themselves. However, he had no concerns.
When asked whether the newly established People’s Party will have a short or long life, Mr. Nattapong said that whether it will be short or long does not depend on us. In the past, it was seen that it was short or long-lasting because the old power group used tools to destroy us. They could not use those things to suppress us and prevent us from moving forward because the people may lose faith in us. He confirmed that he would move forward, but he would not be careless and would work with prudence. Therefore, whether it would have a long life or not depends on them and on the support of the people.
When asked about the past, the party has tried to focus on amending big issues such as
Section 112, Mr. Nattapong said that we do not only aim to propose amendments to Section 112, but also propose amendments to other policies. I would like to communicate to the people who may not have voted for us in the past. The current Prachachon Party does not target any political institutions. We intend to propose various policies in the Thai social structure that still has problems. This is a straightforward, hard-working and sincere way of communicating. We think we will receive more support.
As for the party executive committee of only 5 people, is it to avoid political accidents in the future? Mr. Nattapong said that the party executive committee of 5 people is not to avoid danger, but it is a minimum requirement by law. We want to create a seamless change from a dissolved party to the People’s Party. We want to find 100,000 members to donate 10 million within 1 month. We are still open to discussing in the party whether the party structure design as mentioned earlier will have a larger proportion of
party executives. We can still discuss in the party. We may reach a conclusion at the end of next month when there will be another general meeting.
Mr. Parit Wacharasindhu, a party-list MP for the Prachachon Party, added that as someone who participated in formulating policies for the Move Forward Party, Section 112 is one of the 300 policies that we proposed. If we look at what the Move Forward Party has done, we have tried to solve all the problems of this country. Since the Move Forward Party that we have been running, we have proposed more than 60 bills, whether it be decentralization, improving transportation, amending farmland, or protecting labor rights. This is the party’s promise to solve all the people’s problems. If we look back at the 2023 election, it is not just the Move Forward Party. Some parties may talk about the content or enforcement. This is a question that should be asked of all parties as well, how will this problem be solved?
When asked again whether lowering the ceiling would mainta
in the same ideology, Mr. Parit said that what we used to see as problems, we still see as problems. But he understood that the space to find a solution has narrowed down by the Constitutional Court’s ruling. However, the Court did not prohibit amending Section 112 at all. There is still space left, such as considering the penalty rate, the right to file a complaint, etc. Therefore, the most appropriate space to discuss finding a solution to this issue is the parliament’s space and discuss it on the basis of a solution under the framework of the Constitutional Court’s two past rulings, namely rulings 3/2567 and 10/2567
Source: Thai News Agency