At 9:45 a.m. on June 18 at Parliament, MP Rakchanok Srinork of Bangkok from the People’s Party, who serves as the 18th Vice Chair of the Special Committee on the FY2026 Budget Bill, addressed the recent quorum collapse during the June 17 session. She said the committee had been informed since morning that a quorum count would be called. Rakchanok noted that several procedural issues—including denied document requests and the unusually low-ranking position of her vice chairmanship—reflected underlying dysfunction within the committee.
She stated that the People's Party has consistently faced opposition to its efforts for greater transparency, including being denied requests for ministers to clarify policy matters and resistance to live streaming the sessions. Rakchanok emphasized, “Quorum calls are the only weapon for the minority—and it’s ineffective if the majority simply shows up.”
MP Sirikanya Tansakul added that the objective was not to sabotage the process but to push for fair treatment and cooperation. She argued that livestreaming meetings enhances public oversight and protects participants from misrepresentation. With the livestream now banned, she said there's concern over whether MPs not present in the chamber are aware of critical debates—such as on the controversial “sayonara tax,” a proposed outbound tax projected to raise 28 billion baht, which could significantly impact revenue forecasts if not realized.
Sirikanya stressed that ensuring a working quorum is not a political game but necessary for diligent scrutiny of the 3.78-trillion-baht national budget. She acknowledged that while some officials were inconvenienced by the session collapse, many knew they were scheduled to appear later and thus weren’t affected.
Rakchanok also criticized MPs who had competed to join the committee but now fail to attend meetings. She reiterated her call for responsibility and participation.
On issues within the budget itself, Sirikanya pointed to suspected irregularities in budget allocations disproportionately benefiting specific political areas. The People’s Party has requested project details from the National Water Resources Office to investigate drought and flood mitigation budgets, continuing their scrutiny efforts after findings from the mid-year budget review.
When asked about live streaming party meetings as a transparency model, Sirikanya agreed it was feasible and would be discussed internally. However, she emphasized that government budget deliberations concern taxpayer money and should not be compared with internal party meetings.