Thai Public Participation That Looks Good ... On Paper

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THAI TALK

Public participation that looks good ... on paper

By Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

IF YOU THOUGHT our police force wasn't under any kind of public supervision and control, then you were wrong. And if you weren't aware of the existence of such a body, it's not your fault. I'm afraid the Police Commission has perhaps inadvertently taken great pains to keep that a national secret.

It's officially known as the Police Audit and Monitor Committee (PAMC). It has been in existence for almost ten years. It has a national body, a provincial-level committee and, you won't believe this, every police station around the country is supposed to have one group of inspectors that includes "members of the public" to keep an eye on performance.

And it wasn't an ad hoc sort of arrangement either. Back in 1999, the question of "public participation" in supervising the work of the country's police force was considered so urgent and important that the PM's Office issued a set of rules to require the setting up of PAMCs at all levels, to make sure that the people would be able to keep a very close watch on how our law-enforcement officials were serving the public - and if any of them was found to be negligent, prompt and proper punishment would be meted out.

Very few people today remember the birth of this supposedly dramatic initiative. But at the time, the initiative was probably celebrated with great fanfare. Whoever said we couldn't play by a democratic set of rules in which people would finally have a say in determining the performance of public servants?

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva recently met 1,500 new PAMC members from Bangkok and outlying areas, while another 14,000 others from Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima listened in on a video conference link.

The premier himself obviously realised how little known these eyes and ears of the public are. He asked Krisna Lalai, who was interviewing him for his Sunday television show: "Have you heard of the Kor Tor Tor Ror [the Thai abbreviation for PAMC]?" in a tone suggesting he would be surprised if Krisna knew what that was. The TV anchor admitted the name was somewhat puzzling to him.

Police General Vasit Dejkunhorn, appointed by the PM to head the Police Reform Commission, wrote in Matichon two weeks ago that the PAMC is "beautiful on paper only". It's nothing but showy window dressing to serve as a pretext for public participation as required by the Constitution. The harsh reality, he admitted, is that in most cases the PAMC's mission had failed to achieve its target.

The reasons for the failure are numerous. But they are typical of most bureaucratic schemes that carry noble aims but are deplorably substandard when it comes to execution.

Police General Vasit said most members of these committees are either officials attached to local administrations, or businessmen. In many cases, they are policemen themselves, who were picked to join these committees. Genuine members of the public, active in the supervisory role, are few and far between.

What's worse, these committee members have never been told clearly what their actual roles and responsibilities are. Nobody has bothered to give them proper briefings or guidelines on their important tasks. I wouldn't be surprised if the police officers concerned are especially keen to ensure that such negligence is the rule rather than the exception.

When there is no real attempt to audit and monitor the work of the police, it's only natural that most inspectors and auditors won't take their jobs seriously. Most of them don't want to rock the boat. The committees, in no time, became social clubs where everyone scratched everyone else's back instead of serving as a check and balance for the sake of the public interest.

Police General Vasit pulled no punches when he disclosed that quite a few of these PAMC members were picked by senior police officers at relevant police stations based on one sole yardstick: they were financially well-off enough to help subsidise the police unit concerned. The chosen members of the public were happy to be given social status and influence, while the police officers were happy to use them as ATMs for ready cash.

The very concept of the people's participation in monitoring the work of our bureaucrats at all levels has been incorporated into our Constitution. In fact, in terms of introducing modern, democratic ideas, Thai politicians and technocrats can compete with anyone in the world. It's the execution of these grand plans at all levels that has failed miserably. And that, unfortunately, is the rule rather than exception.

-- The Nation 2010-07-29

[SomTumTiger]

Police Reform - one of the most vital areas for the forward movement of Thailand's development. Lets hope they can do a little bit...

[geriatrickid]

It's wonderful that Police General Vasit and the Prime Minister made mention of the PAMC.

Now what are they going to do about getting it work? How about the introduction of the regulation that says no appointments by the police the PAMC is supposed to supervise. Also, how about a rule that forbids conflicts of interest, you know like owning a bar or a criminal record.

[asiawatcher]

Fabulous - another bureaucracy to pay and all for non events - is there no end to the waste of money here? Pass this over to a decent law office in a foreign country (Scotland Yard) (Australian Federal Police) (FBI) and get them to come in unbiased and watch the heads roll. But leave it in the hands of the Thai's??? - joking baby - joking....