The trip to Europe by the House Speaker and his entourage was made possible by a surplus in the Parliament's 2012 budget, a source who asked not to be named said yesterday.
The source also said Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont had initially proposed that the money be spent on seminars and called on MCOT vice chairman Chakrapan Yomjinda to organise these events. However, part of the surplus was unspent, and hence used to sponsor Somsak's trip to the United Kingdom, France and Belgium.
The 2012 fiscal year ends at the end of this month, and if the money allocated does not get spent it must be returned to the Finance Ministry.
The source said the two seminars organised by Chakrapan, who was a former candidate for Parliament from the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai party, included speakers whose ideas were mainly in line with the ruling Pheu Thai Party and the red shirts.
The seminar participants included former Thai Rak Thai members Chaturon Chaisaeng and Bhokin Bhalakula as well as Nitirat Group leader Piyabutr Saengkanokkul and political scientist Pitch Pongsawat - who is also part of Somsak's entourage to Europe.
Chakrapan and his daughter chose those invited to join the trip, the source said. In addition, the journalists and academics invited to join the trip were seen as having pro-Pheu Thai and pro-red-shirt sentiments.
The National Press Council of Thailand and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand yesterday issued a joint statement saying they would look into the issue and see if the journalistic code of ethics had been compromised, before announcing what measures it would take.
Somsak has been heavily criticised for taking a large group of people and representatives of the media to Europe on a so-called study trip, which is costing Bt7 million of the taxpayer's money and includes many extravagant outings.
Pheu Thai party-list MP Korkaew Pikulthong, who is also co-leader of the red shirts, said yesterday that government officials should be encouraged to visit developed countries so they can bring back knowledge to help develop this nation. For instance, Somsak will study the workings of the British Parliament and see how they can be applied back home.
The MP also said that every House official's visit overseas should be investigated, adding that he would like to know whether Democrat party-list MP Boonyod Sooktinthai had gone overseas during his time in office, and had taken House officials with him. Boonyod had said earlier that his committee, tasked to look into House affairs, would investigate Somsak's trip.
Korkaew said it was normal for government officials to take their aides or family members on trips overseas, provided they covered their expenses themselves.
Although Somsak earlier said he would revise his travel plans, his spokesman Wattana Sengpairoh said yesterday that the Speaker had decided to go ahead and taken the scheduled flight yesterday.
"Preparations for this trip were made two months ago by House deputy secretary-general Kamphi Ditthakorn. The initial plan was to treat the accompanying reporters to a cruise down the Seine in Paris, but deputy secretary-general Supamas Noichan, who is in charge of the Finance and Budget Bureau, did not approve it because of the lack of details. Then Kamphi agreed to adjust the itinerary," Wattana said.
He added that he did not expect any more problems and would check the details before revealing them at a news conference.
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Source: http://www.news.thethailandlinks.com/2012/09/22/somsaks-trip-paid-for-by-leftover-cash/
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