Wissanu Krea-ngam, a deputy prime minister in the Prayut government, has agreed to serve as an advisor attached to the Secretariat of the Cabinet, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said today.
An order appointing Wissanu is being drafted and checked, Srettha told reporters. “I already met and invited Khun Wissanu to take the position. He is ready to do the job,” he added.
Wissanu, a veteran law expert, has served in many governments, including that of Thaksin Shinawatra. He stepped down as deputy prime minister in the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration last year, before the Srettha government took office. At that time, he had pledged to leave politics, citing his ill health, including diabetes and kidney disease, as well as his old age.
Srettha revealed Monday that he had consulted Wissanu regarding the Constitutional Court case, in which 40 senators are seeking to strip him of his ministerial status over his appointment of Phichit Chuenban as PM Office Minister.
The senators charge that the appointment breached the Constitution because Phichit was sentenced to six months in prison, without suspension, on a bribery conviction in the “snack box” scandal over a decade ago.
Phichit was known for having been the Shinawatra family’s lawyer and his appointment to the ministerial position was believed to been at the request of the family. Phichit, however, resigned shortly before the Constitutional Court agreed to consider the petition on May 23, therefore, only Srettha’s future is on the line.
Srettha today dismissed as groundless the claim that recruiting Wissanu to the team meant his government was lacking legal expertise, saying to wait and see the details of the appointment order.
Wissanu meawhile said today that his position as an advisor at the Office of the Secretariat of the Cabinet is not a political one and he is not required to declare his assets.
He admitted that Srettha had visited him at his residence on Saturday and they had discussed several issues, including the 40 senators’ move against the prime minister.
A top legal expert, Wissanu said that he is not the chief legal advisor in rebutting the senators’ case in the Constitutional Court, but the responsibility rests with former prime minister’s office Phichit Chuenban.
He also reiterated that he would not accept any political post in the government because of his poor health.
