'Independent lawmakers must' for a fair govt
PRAPASRI OSATHANON
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A SENATE-ORGANISED seminar has suggested independent candidates be allowed to join the electoral race as a way to counter parliamentary dictatorship.

The Senate committee on good governance and a group of 40 senators yesterday organised the seminar aimed at improving the political system.

Key panellists included two senators, Paiboon Nititawan and Kamnoon Sidhisamarn, former senator Chirmsak Pinthong and former charter framer Komsan Pokong.

Chirmsak said the emergence of a political party owned by an individual could be attributed to the fact that party founders had no ideology and relied on their financiers to sustain the party.

This led to the spread of funds to woo electoral candidates to join and boost the party, he said.

Aspiring candidates, in turn, opted to flock to the party with the most potential to name a prime minister, he added. A clear example of one-man party ownership was the case involving the ruling Pheu Thai Party, whose de facto leader, many believe, is former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Under partisan politics, lawmakers have no choice but to vote in accordance with the party line, he said.

He called for an antidote to partisanship by allocating seats for independent MPs.

Kamnoon said the system of partisanship should be overhauled.

Under the present system, lawmakers were like company employees dictated to by capitalists, he said.

In a true democracy, lawmakers should be able to exercise their discretion in serving the public interest and not be dominated by party financiers, he said.

He said the prevailing political system was similar to the market dominance of one player.

-- The Nation 2013-10-17

The Senate is on the right track, how far this will be allowed to go is another thing, before the anti Democracy crowd start their bleating. In any democracy anyone can nominate , be elected to parliament, go's to show how much Thailand has to go before you can say it is a land with a democracy government, also in a democracy you have rules in place that prevent a dictatorship type , totalitarian party hack government, very much like what is evolving in Thailand at present , till the idea of I am in it for me changes and the mind set of I am here to represent the People and the country, as the goals of each member of Parliament, the present nepotism type leadership will continue, un- fortunately, old habits die hard.

This problem is systematic of the historical culture of politics in this country. Coup after Coup, for whatever reason, banning political parties etc has meant there has been no historical growth of idealogy, therefore no deep rooted party structure, where the party is greater than the leader. Politics is Thailand is like a personality cult, no real democracy displays the traits where politicians jump from one party to another quite like Thailand.

Never gonna happen, here or anywhere.

As picture tells a thousand words, Indeed we need more independent lawmakers is a must.

Impractical idea. 'Independent' lawmakers wouldn't have have anyone to tell them what to do.