Parliament Deputy Dismisses Critique Over Lottery Distraction
Deputy Speaker Mallika Jiraphanthavannich blocked a Bangkok MP's critical slides during a parliamentary budget debate, dismissing his concerns about defense spending by noting that lottery drawings had distracted public attention.
At 3:30 p.m. on July 1, 2025, during a parliamentary session discussing the 2570 fiscal year budget bill, Deputy Speaker Mallika Jiraphanthavannich, who was chairing the meeting, clarified procedures for presentation slides to be displayed in the chamber. She requested that lawmakers submit slides to the audio-visual team for screening first, as some content may occasionally be offensive or cause staff inconvenience. She noted that certain slides from Bangkok MP Ekachai Udomamnuay of the Democratic Party would not be permitted to be shown.
"Ekachai's substance is already strong enough," Mallika said. "There's no need to sensationalize or invoke 'demon lawyer' tactics right now. The lottery is drawing today—believe me, people are busy checking their lottery tickets, not really watching us. At 3:30 this afternoon, by 4 o'clock they'll know who won. You need to understand how ordinary people think."
Ekachai had criticized the Defense Ministry budget by employing a parable about three demons consuming military funds: phantom soldiers who exist only on paper to collect salaries, fraudulent researchers manipulating budgets, and finally the "demon minister" allegedly pushing through improper arms deals.
"If the current government's budget allocation process is infected by these three demons eating away at Defense Ministry funds—especially the largest one, the demon minister—then I cannot support allocating the Defense Ministry budget in this manner," Ekachai stated.