Fifty-seven of the 220 National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members have appointed family members or relatives as personal aides, paid from public funds.
Each NLA member may appoint assistants and advisers whose salaries are paid by taxpayers. A personal assistant gets a monthly salary of 15,000 baht, a personal expert 20,000 baht and a personal specialist 24,000 baht.
An NLA announcement does not limit the number of appointees but sets the minimum ages — 35 for specialists, 25 for experts and 18 for assistants.
A specialist must hold a bachelor's degree or higher, with at least five years of suitable experience. An expert needs to have at least three years of work experience. However, the minimum degree requirement for an assistant is Mathayom 6, with at least seven years of experience or a vocational collage degree with five years of experience.
The specialists provide academic advice to the NLA members while the experts research for facts and legal issues and study complaints, motions and interpellations for the NLA members. The assistants do what the members ask them to.
According to Isara News Agency, some NLA members appointed more than one family member as their helpers. For example, Nipon Narapitakkul has appointed his wife, daughter and son to help with his work while Adm Taratorn Kajitsuwan appointed his wife and daughter.
As the regulation states that one person can take only one position at a time, Adm Taratorn appointed his wife three times to different positions, with the latest one as personal specialist, effective on Jan 1, 2015.
Other NLA members who have appointed more than one relatives as helpers are Khunying Songsuda Yodmani, ACM Narongsak Sangapong, Pol Lt Gen Boonraung Polpanich, Gen Somjed Boontanom, Gen Suchat Nongbua and Gen Ongard Pongsakdi.
NLA vice-president Peerasak Porjit said on Friday it was within their legal right for the NLA members to appoint people close to them as their helpers but ethically it depended on their discretion.
He declined to comment whether such appointments would tarnish the NLA's image but said he would study the issue in detail as he was responsible for the NLA’s ethical issues.
