Pheu Thai pushing Yaowapa as MP

Pheu Thai pushing Yaowapa as MP

A move by the Pheu Thai party to get Yaowapa Wongsawat, another sister of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, into the House could do more harm than good, some party members say.

The party reportedly wants Mrs Yaowapa to be available as an MP in case her younger sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, is disqualified following a loan transaction probe by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The stage has been set after Mrs Yaowapa's close aide, Kasem Nimmonrat, abruptly resigned effective March 13, as a Chiang Mai MP, giving no explanation.

A byelection for the seat must be held within 60 days under the law.

Yaowapa Wongsawat (left) and Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan (right), shown above at a Pheu Thai meeting last September, are not in government but are two of the party's most influential figures. (Post File Photo)

A Pheu Thai source said Mr Kasem's resignation was intended to make way for Mrs Yaowapa, a more influential power broker than her sister, to seek election.

The source said senior party members reviewed the situation and concluded that they needed a backup plan.

"Our poo yai (senior figure, a reference to Thaksin) has received some information that there may be some political shakeup in the next few months that might adversely affect Ms Yingluck's premiership status," said the source.

"So getting Yaowapa elected as an MP is a precaution."

The NACC is investigating Ms Yingluck in connection with a loan of 30 million baht she made to a company in which her spouse, Anusorn Amornchat, was a shareholder. The NACC is looking to determine whether asset concealment applies in the case.

The source acknowledged that the elevation of Mrs Yaowapa might backfire. Unlike Ms Yingluck who had no involvement in politics before 2011, Mrs Yaowapa is seen as intensely partisan and fiercely protective of her brother.

Mrs Yaowapa wields great influence behind the scenes over Pheu Thai and government affairs. She is known to have a say in many decisions related to cabinet, civil service, police and military positions. Most people believe that a word from her is as good as a word from her exiled brother.

When Thaksin visited Hong Kong last year, Mrs Yaowapa was in charge of handing out queue numbers to the Thai political supplicants who had come to see him at his hotel.

Mrs Yaowapa's husband, Somchai Wongsawat, briefly served as prime minister in 2008 for the People Power Party, an earlier reincarnation of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai.

As the person seen as closest to Thaksin, her image is likely to upset Thaksin's critics and even neutral voters, said the source.

Several Pheu Thai MPs were caught off-guard by the speculation. Some questioned whether Mrs Yaowapa would be a wise choice.

Somkid Chuekhong, a Pheu Thai MP for Ubon Ratchathani, said it would be inappropriate to have Mrs Yaowapa succeed Ms Yingluck.

"It is obvious. The party will be a target of criticism about a power monopoly. Personally I don't think the prime minister will lose her post," he said.

Noppakhun Ratpathai, another Pheu Thai MP for Chiang Mai, said he was sceptical about reports that Mrs Yaowapa would seek election to prepare for the prime minister's office.

He said that he did not doubt her ability but that she looked more comfortable working "behind the scenes"

"She doesn't want any cabinet post. She works backstage which is very helpful," he said.

A political observer in the North said Mrs Yaowapa did not fit the image of a national leader.

He said the speculation about her being groomed for the premier's job was nothing more than to create political buzz.

Pheu Thai party is expected to hold a press conference on the matter on Sunday.

Mr Kasem won a landslide victory in a byelection in Chiang Mai's Constituency 3 in June last year after Chinnicha Wongsawat, daughter of Mrs Yaowapa, was stripped of her status as a Pheu Thai Party MP for making a false asset declaration.

Election commissioner Sodsri Satthayatham said on Saturday that she had not been informed officially of Mr Kasem's resignation. If he has resigned, a vote to fill the seat must be held in 45 days of the resignation date.

The Election Commission would meet on Monday to discuss the matter, she added.

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