Pm Untouchable Under Present Charter

[george]

PM untouchable under present charter

Thai Rak Thai sees no benefits from constitutional changes

BANGKOK: Constitutional mechanisms installed to prevent the return of military dictatorship and end political sabotage have not only made Mr Thaksin unbeatable but also shielded him from political attacks, observers said on the eve of the Constitution Day.

Worajate Pakhirat, a Thammasat University law lecturer, said the charter had helped Mr Thaksin become politically untouchable and mounting a censure debate against him had become impossible.

The prime minister, who commands an absolute majority in the House, can shut the door on any no-confidence move against him. The charter requires that a censure motion must be backed by at least two-fifths of the 500 MPs, or 200.

Mr Worajate suggested amendments to the charter to cut down the number of supporters for a no-confidence move against the prime minister by half, or 100 MPs, the amount required for a censure motion against a minister.

``Making it hard to grill the prime minister is unfair, given that he has everything under his control, does not have to report to anyone and even independent watchdogs cannot investigate how he uses his power,'' Mr Worajate said.

It was not right for a democratic country to give only one person sole authority in national management.

``We should not allow that to continue. We need to make corrections,'' he said.

Rangsun Thanapornpun, a Thammasat University economist, said in his report on ``Constitutional Economics'' that the supreme law of the country, in force since 1997, failed to contribute to political reform and arrive at its goals of increasing the people's rights and freedoms, promoting public participation in national administration and cleaning up and stabilising politics.

Even though a guarantee of the people's rights could finally be enshrined on the statute book, there was nowhere in the constitution that guaranteed enforcement, fixed timeframes for the issuance of related laws accommodating the use of those rights or made the state cover the cost of making a law proposed by the people.

The charter makes it possible for at least 50,000 eligible voters to sign up to propose a bill but the process is certainly costly and no one knows where the money should come from, Mr Rangsun said.

``No wonder we have no one to help give birth to the community rights law,'' he said.

The charter also bars an MP sponsoring a bill as an individual. He has to have the support of at least 20 MPs from the same party, making small parties with just a few House seats unable to push a bill through parliament, the academic said.

Mr Rangsun said there was no proof Thai politics were now cleaner than when the country was still without the present constitution.

Scandalous politicians were unrepentant.

They cheated like before _ through state contracts and policies made to serve their own interests.

Mr Rangsun said a way out was to design a new constitution that increased competitiveness in the political market, that did not saddle poll candidates with an obligation that they must be members of a political party, that removed obstacles preventing good people from entering politics, and promoted a balance of political information and supported small parties.

``That constitution will be totally different from the charter we now have,'' he said.

Democrat list MP Komate Kwanmuang said his party would seek to amend the charter in February to remove politicians from every selection panel charged with naming contenders to independent organisations like the Constitution Court and the Election Commission.

Alterations were mulled after a panel of 15 members, five of them politicians, ignored experienced graft fighter Klanarong Chanthik as a candidate for a seat on the National Counter Corruption Commission.

Wichit Plangsrisakul, a Thai Rak Thai list MP, said he believed the point to be raised by the Democrats for amendment would fail to win support from parliament because there was no guarantee that it could stop panel members from blocking votes.

Mr Wichit argued that the charter did have some channels left to examine the prime minister.

The opposition, he said, had censured 13 ministers with the intent to prove to the people that they were not up to the job because of Mr Thaksin's poor management. But they could not convince the NCCC to impeach even a single minister.

Thai Rak Thai will not propose any amendments, not because the charter gave it the edge but because there was no guarantee changes would benefit political reform, Mr Wichit said.

--The Post 2003-12-10