Thailand’s House of Representatives is preparing for the 2025 annual ordinary session on July 3. The morning agenda will be live verbal and questions interpellations while the afternoon will be the consideration of the bills that the Coordinating Committee already reviewed.
Originally, the consideration was scheduled to start on July 9, with the entertainment complex bill being the first agenda, followed by peaceful society and political amnesty bills.
Ms. Manaporn Charoensri, Deputy Minister of Transport, stated that the government will listen to the public’s opinions regarding the entertainment complex bill but also reiterated that only 10% of the complex will be the casino. The remaining area will consist of other types of activities that help stimulate the economy.
Nonetheless, there are still some citizens who still express dissatisfaction and require more time to understand. Therefore, she discussed with Mr. Wisut Chainarun, Pheu Thai Party’s representative and chairman of the government whip, and he approved the postponement of the entertainment complex bill’s consideration, and shifted the focus to other bills, including the Amnesty bill.
Furthermore, Mr. Julapun Amornvivat, Deputy Minister of Finance, stated yesterday that the parliament must comply with the committee’s decision and allow the public more time to understand the bill. Moreover, the Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra must discuss with the coalition government first to form a new cabinet that provides majority support that allows them to pass most of the bills.
Mr. Julapun also estimated that the entertainment complex bill would not be struck down due to still being under consideration. This postponement would reveal which state the bill will be in and in the end, there will be a consideration. He believes that the bill will get the approval once it is proposed to the parliament.
Mr. Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, opposition’s leader from People’s Party, encouraged the government to withdraw the bill instead of postponing it due to the current state of the nation being not suitable to push for the bill.
The Center for Economic and Business Forecasting also pointed out that the government should not accelerate the bill’s consideration to reduce pressure from the public and the risk of losing parliament’s votes. This would provide an opportunity for the coalition to continue governing.
Considering the current economic situation in Thailand, the center stated that the government should prioritize passing the FY2026 budget and striking a deal with the U.S. to avoid reciprocal tariffs. Once the budget is passed, the government can maintain its work with support from its coalition party, but need to see whether public pressure will force a premature exit for the government.
