House secretary-general Siroj Phaetphan on Monday denied political interference in guidelines governing the House’s 35 standing committees after opposition MPs accused parliamentary leaders of restricting oversight powers and delaying action on urgent public issues.
Mr Siroj said the committees had operated under the same principles since 2019, but the Secretariat moved to formalise them after legal concerns about committee powers.
Under Section 129 of the constitution, committees must act collectively when seeking documents or summoning individuals to provide information. Such actions require majority approval rather than decisions by individual lawmakers, he said.
The guidelines are intended to ensure legal compliance and protect parliamentary staff from possible investigations or disciplinary action over procedural mistakes.
“There has been no political pressure. We operate on the basis of the law, the constitution and parliamentary regulations,” Mr Siroj said. He warned that civil servants could be held responsible for procedural violations while politicians might escape the consequences.
Mr Siroj said he had not received a formal invitation from the House committee on legal affairs, justice and human rights for Speaker Sophon Zarum to explain the guidelines next week. The speaker could attend or send his first deputy or the secretary-general, he said.