Thai editorial: House chairmen should hang their heads in shame

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EDITORIAL
House chairmen should hang their heads in shame
The Nation

Speaker and his deputy gave the opposition little chance to discuss drastic changes to highly contentious bill

BANGKOK: -- Democrat Members of Parliament have misbehaved at House meetings, although whether they were doing the wrong thing for the right reason is a tough question in an extremely divisive political atmosphere. Members of Thailand's oldest party, however, could not be faulted when they lambasted senior Pheu Thai figures who chaired the acrimonious final readings of the amnesty bill last week. Somsak Kiatsuranont and Charoen Chankomol were called 'a disgrace' by opposition lawmakers, and they provided strong reasons why.

Time given the opposition camp by House Speaker Somsak and Deputy House Speaker Charoen to debate the highly sensitive bill was nowhere near enough. That was the truth that the two cannot deny.

The Democrats, who were numerically overwhelmed during the vetting process, registered their right to speak up at the full House against major and politically explosive changes made to the bill by Pheu Thai MPs, who dominated the vetting panel. Somsak and Charoen did not allow them to exercise their reserved rights.

It was, of course, a Democrat tactic. The opposition MPs made scores of reservations against changes made during the vetting process, hoping to prolong passage of the bill as long as they possibly could.

But tactical or not, Somsak and Charoen were not supposed to judge the opposition's moves. The House speaker and deputy House speaker were constitutionally bound to allow the MPs to express their opinions. Such basic duty of the leaders of the legislature became even more crucial when a bill that had been initially designed one way was stretched very possibly beyond its original principles.

Former Democrat leader Chuan Leekpai was right when he said it was not up to Somsak and Charoen to judge how many opponents of the bill should be allowed to speak. And it was hard to argue with other Democrats when they accused Somsak and Charoen of forgetting their roles, of stooping so low in dubious attempts to rush the bill through.

Granted, no House speakers or deputy House speakers have ever been entirely neutral. But while party affiliation has always come into play more or less, the two men sank to new lows on Wednesday night. The opposition was right in asking the two why they refused to adjourn the House debate at 3am.

The Democrats claimed only "dictatorial" parliaments would pass such highly delicate laws in just one day, with so few opponents allowed to debate against them and everybody too exhausted to effectively scrutinise sensitive points.

"Why the haste?" the opposition asked, and it was the question that was ringing in the heads of many Thais monitoring the fate of the controversial bill.

The Democrats boycotted the final proceedings when it became clear the ruling party would exert numerical superiority to wrap up debate and pass the drastically altered in just one day. They chanted "Slaves, Slaves" as Somsak oversaw the speedy passage of key articles of the bill, with ceremonial, if not pathetic, "debate" by some government MPs. It was nothing short of a political farce, which materialised on a day when Thai lawmakers, ironically, begged each other to give Parliament a chance to play a leading role in tackling a national crisis without prejudice.

On Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, Somsak and Charoen oversaw a badly malfunctioning House session which they themselves were largely responsible for.

They should hang their heads in shame, having done the parliamentary system a great disservice by choosing to ignore sacred obligations to ensure democratic fairness and transparency.


-- The Nation 2013-11-04

[worgeordie]

Rammed through ,without regard for anyone,the master must

be obeyed,maybe hes hoping to be back by Christmas, and

reinstalled as PM ,by decree in the new year.

regards Worgeordie

[NongKhaiKid]

Thai politicians and officials hanging their heads in shame ! ?

Now that really would be a first.

[Thaddeus]

Thai politicians and officials hanging their heads in shame ! ?

Now that really would be a first.

It is fairly difficult to hang your head when it is firmly rammed up another man's backside.

[noitom]

The newspaper should hang its head in shame. Years of inane tripe coverage of this contentious issue. The newspaper has made a sideshow out of Thailand and its leadership.

[bigbamboo]

Does The Nation really think their readership believes parliament is run for the benefit of the people?

Edited November 4, 2013 by bigbamboo

[rixalex]

The newspaper should hang its head in shame. Years of inane tripe coverage of this contentious issue. The newspaper has made a sideshow out of Thailand and its leadership.

A crap excuse for a newspaper of that there is no doubt, but all to often, the complaints don't address any of the content in the article, just dismiss it all simply for that fact that it appeared in The Nation. Case in point above.

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[gabruce]

The newspaper should hang its head in shame. Years of inane tripe coverage of this contentious issue. The newspaper has made a sideshow out of Thailand and its leadership.

All I can say is "WRONG!"

[Siripon]

Thaksin's minions know no shame, if they did they couldn't work for him.

It's amusing now watching red shirts like Tida and Jatupon squirming, trying to deal with and rationalize Thaksin's blanket amnesty, no trial for Apisit or Suthep

The same goes for Sunisa and Yingluk, claiming the amnesty's for peace and reconciliation whilst all around them large segments of Thai society are vigorously opposing their moves.

How long can one believe in one's own lies?

[yoshiwara]

One senses an echo of Chicago under Al Capone.

[drdoom6996]

I have seen the word transparency used as the word law is used. They urge people to do the lawful thing. Police are urged to be police. The same is true of transparency. People/Government are urged to be transparent. They receive headlines and photo ops and television time to spout their drivel and then do what they want, whether it's law or being transparent.

This is frustrating to me as a father of a Thai 19 year old girl who asks questions about what happens here. I give her my negative opinion and then try and tell her why things happen the way they do, as positive as possible. I do this not to appear to be a negative expat living here. Her mother just thinks that all politicians and police are using their position/uniforms for their own benefit.

In saying all of this, my "T" time has yet to be effected by politicians not being transparent, or police not enforcing the law.

[lostmebike]

Thai politicians and officials hanging their heads in shame ! ?

Now that really would be a first.

It is fairly difficult to hang your head when it is firmly rammed up another man's backside.

Indeed.

On the payroll?

[tonneke breda]

The newspaper should hang its head in shame. Years of inane tripe coverage of this contentious issue. The newspaper has made a sideshow out of Thailand and its leadership.

That the country did all by itself, the papers have just highlighted the Bullshit, only putty that the redshirts up country can't read it….

[lungbing]

For 'putty' I take it you mean 'pity'. And why shouldn't the red-shirts upcountry read it? Their literacy level is just as high as Bangkok's. I do not understand the virulent, almost pathalogical hatred of Thaksin so often expressed on this board. You seem to feel that living north of Don Meuang airport means you can't have a vote, especially if you mean to use it to vote for someone the Bangkok elite (as personified by the average Thaivisa member) don't approve of.

If Thaksin's faction loses the next election do you think the whole Thai political arena will suddenly be brilliantly clean and corruption free? Was there no corruption in Thailand before Thaksin? If Thaksin's faction loses there will just be a different set of snouts in the trough, and the cycle will continue, ad infinitum.

[Dap]

The newspaper should hang its head in shame. Years of inane tripe coverage of this contentious issue. The newspaper has made a sideshow out of Thailand and its leadership.

Although I tend to agree concerning your take on the newspapers track record, I

believe in this particular issue, Thailand's "leadership" has no need of the Press

to make a "sideshow" of itself. They are perfectly capable of doing it all themselves

without any outside assistance

[rixalex]

For 'putty'  I take it you mean 'pity'.  And why shouldn't the red-shirts upcountry read it?  Their literacy level is just as high as Bangkok's. 

 

I don't think it's a case of shouldn't or can't, but a case of don't.

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