Parliament has launched an investigation into an allegation that parliamentary secretarial positions and carpark badges are being sold, in which the president of the Pen Noeng Foundation is implicated.
Arpat Sukhanan, secretary-general of the House of Representatives, told the media at parliament today that the investigation is focusing on the issuance of parking permits, which is the responsibility of the Office of Parliament Security, and the alleged sale of secretarial positions in House committees, which are the responsibility of each committee.
He said that it is assumed that most officials in the Office of Parliament Security are honest, but a probe will proceed anyway to find out if there are any unscrupulous officials who might be involved in the malpractice.
As for the alleged selling of secretarial posts, Arpat explained that each House committee has to follow the rules and code of conduct in the recruitment process, to ensure that appointees are appropriately qualified.
In a Facebook post today, the president of the Pen Noeng Foundation offered an apology to its members and the public over the foundation being implicated in the controversy.
It is being reported in social media, based on Line chat leaks, that a secretarial position in a House committee was offered for sale at about 500,000 baht for the four-year duration of this parliament.
Although the monthly salary is low, the investment is “worth it”, according to one Line chat.
