The brouhaha at the parliamentary canteen of Thailand has stirred a lot of conversation lately—exposing an alarming rate of food wastage and kick-starting a new discourse on the efficient use of public funds. It all began with a social media debacle where an MP was seen carrying away leftovers, opening up the Pandora’s box on lavish meals and beverages that are offered to parliamentary members.
The incident revolved around Move Forward MP Sirilapas Kongtrakarn, better known as Mew. Albeit an innocent act to prevent waste and enjoy a late-night meal after a long day, a photograph of hers, when posted on Instagram with a critical caption, sparked off debates on food waste. Undeterred, she reposted the picture on Twitter, solemnly reminding over 20,000 followers that the food she was taking home would’ve been thrown away instead. Public outburst on the matter necessitated into a pressing need for improved management to curb food waste and optimize the use of public funds directed towards subsidizing meals for lawmakers.
Reacting to the uproar, Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha assured the public that the issue has been taken up with high ranking officials, including deputies and the House Secretary, Pornpit Petcharoen. The prime objective, he highlighted, is to provide satisfactory services to MPs without overspending and generating surplus waste. In doing so, he called upon tackling the issue and revisiting the catering budget—if need be.
The numbers are significant when it comes to catering at parliamentary meetings. In fiscal 2023, the House Secretariat, responsible for catering such meetings, allocated approximately 72 million baht—equivalent to 1,000 baht per individual per meeting day. This sum is intended to cover two meals (lunch & dinner), along with a morning snack. In the occasion that meetings run beyond the usual time, additional meals are made available. This is in addition to another 34.8 million baht dedicated to catering for House committee meetings, and 1.26 million baht marked down for opposition whip catering services. The total budget for all catering in fiscal 2023 outstrips 108 million baht—a figure that calls for careful expenditure and wise decisions.
Deeply concerned about this, longtime politician Rangsima Rodrassamee has urged the House Committee on Parliament Affairs to revamp the regulations related to the catering budget to eradicate unnecessary spending and reduce food waste. She suggested a unique method, urging that food allowances should be loaded onto MPs’ ID cards. The MPs could use these funds to purchase food in the parliamentary canteen, and any unspent funds could then be returned at the day’s end.
Adding to this cry for change, the Democrat MP for Samut Songkhram last year raised the issue of excessive free food leading to hoarding and wastage. He expressed the need for a stringent framework that discourages MPs from carrying away free meal boxes provided during parliamentary meetings. As he rightly put, “Parliament must find a way to address this.”
This, in essence, is a microcosm of a complex jigsaw puzzle of operational efficiency, ethical dilemmas, and smart decision-making. Every piece matters, and together, they will help bring about a change that translates into prudent spending, minimizes waste, and upholds the values of a true democracy.
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