Prayuth assures fair selection of reform council members

[webfact]

NATIONAL REFORM COUNCIL
Prayuth assures fair selection of reform council members
The Nation


Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, seated right, joins Deputy Premier and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, seated left, and Deputy Premier Yongyuth Yutthawong, on their way to Siriraj Hospital for the new Cabinet members

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday gave his assurance that members of the National Reform Council (NRC) would be selected fairly and carefully, with none of the candidates being especially favoured because of their connections.

He called on all sides to take part in the reforms to help tackle the country's major problems.

"Everyone must take part in solving the country's problems - the government, the people, the private sector and civil society. No particular people should do it alone," Prayuth said, in his capacity as chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

He was speaking to a gathering of members of the NRC selection committees at the Army Club.

Prayuth's assurance was backed by some key members of the selection panels. Meechai Ruchuphan, chairman of the selection committee on public administration, insisted that no particular candidates have been favoured in advance by the panel to become NRC members.

Meechai said one rule had been agreed upon by the selection committee members - they would abstain when their relatives happened to be among the candidates to be voted on by panel members.

"This is to ensure transparency. And we will take into account the diversity of the NRC members; they will come from different sectors and groups of people, and they will be well qualified and experienced," he said.

Former Thammasat University rector Surapon Nitikraipot, who is spokesman for the selection committee on political affairs, said the panel members had agreed to focus on picking as many people as possible who were involved in the political conflict.

In response to concerns that the selection panels may have already favoured certain candidates in advance, Surapon said he believed in the integrity of the selection committee members.

The 11 selection committees met separately after Prayuth's speech yesterday to choose the presidents of their panels and to discuss the selection rules in detail.

A total of 7,042 people named as candidates for the NRC during the nomination period between August 14 and Tuesday, according to Election Commission secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong. Of these, 4,262 people were nominated by not-for-profit legal entities and 2,780 by the provincial selection panels.

The EC was assigned by the NCPO to oversee the NRC nomination process.

Puchong said the final number of nominations would be concluded today when nominations through mail (posted by the deadline on Tuesday) are also included.

Prayuth, who is also the Army commander-in-chief, yesterday told the members of the NRC selection committees that he regarded the high number of nominations as a "success for us all".

"It's good news to have so many nominations. I would like to thank all the parties involved," he said.

However, Prayuth also said the selection committees would face much pressure in choosing 250 people for the NRC from the several thousands of nominations. "There will be a lot of attention and pressure," he added.

He urged the selection committees to ensure fairness and transparency. He said the selected NRC members must show their determination and devotion in order to ensure success of the reform efforts.

The PM and NCPO chief also showed his lighter side during his speech yesterday.

Prayuth, wearing a military uniform to the event, said he was advised against wearing a uniform to appear there. "But I don't know what to do. I have not retired yet and I am still working in the NCPO," he said.

He also light-heartedly accused some media of "being too imaginative" that his military clique already had their favoured candidates pre-selected for the NRC.

Prayuth said some people had told him that he had become the target of a black-magic attack, so he was advised to get holy water sprinkled by Buddhist monks. "I got so much holy water that I almost fell ill," he added.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Prayuth-assures-fair-selection-of-reform-council-m-30242577.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-05

[NongKhaiKid]

" None of the candidates being especially favoured because of their connections ".

Now wouldn't that be a first.

[slipperx]

And how do the people involve themselves in the reform process? Is there some think tank post box or something?

[chainarong]

Memo - The sooner PM General Prayuth gets away from the military uniform and into a suit the better image on the International stage Thailand will have, the varying amounts of fair selection of the reform members is disputable, non military aligned should vote for military candidates and vise versa, that way transparency would seem to be done, although just how much lobbying behind the scenes is being done and BHT changing hands would be a worry, not being elected by the people could raise some claims to corruption. If it was on race horse form: Don't expect any surprises here.

[Roadman]

Memo - The sooner PM General Prayuth gets away from the military uniform and into a suit the better image on the International stage Thailand will have, the varying amounts of fair selection of the reform members is disputable, non military aligned should vote for military candidates and vise versa, that way transparency would seem to be done, although just how much lobbying behind the scenes is being done and BHT changing hands would be a worry, not being elected by the people could raise some claims to corruption. If it was on race horse form: Don't expect any surprises here.

I doubt that there will be many military people in among the reform councils. Perhaps the odd few that have gained expertise in fields outside of the military. The strategy that is being laid out by the Junta is very clear. The heavy military presence is in the Cabinet and NCPO as that is where he needs to hold the balance of power as he currently has and going forward until elections are held. The NRC sits under his control so he has the flexibility to allow citizens capable within their fields to fill those positions. I would be surprised given his intelligence and wisdom to date that he would militarise the NPC when he is showing genuine desire to reform Thailand.

[tbthailand]

yawn.

[orientalsf]

Memo - The sooner PM General Prayuth gets away from the military uniform and into a suit the better image on the International stage Thailand will have, the varying amounts of fair selection of the reform members is disputable, non military aligned should vote for military candidates and vise versa, that way transparency would seem to be done, although just how much lobbying behind the scenes is being done and BHT changing hands would be a worry, not being elected by the people could raise some claims to corruption. If it was on race horse form: Don't expect any surprises here.

I have to disagree, PM Prayuth is doing the right thing. The military uniform is showing the Thai people stability. The rest of the world has enough problems of their own to take care of. Let the Thai people take care of internal affairs without interference of outside. Thailand/Siam has been around longer than most western countries. Every thing is not black and white. Just like there can be different shades of so called democracy. Let countries decide what is good for them.

[tbthailand]

Memo - The sooner PM General Prayuth gets away from the military uniform and into a suit the better image on the International stage Thailand will have, the varying amounts of fair selection of the reform members is disputable, non military aligned should vote for military candidates and vise versa, that way transparency would seem to be done, although just how much lobbying behind the scenes is being done and BHT changing hands would be a worry, not being elected by the people could raise some claims to corruption. If it was on race horse form: Don't expect any surprises here.

I have to disagree, PM Prayuth is doing the right thing. The military uniform is showing the Thai people stability. The rest of the world has enough problems of their own to take care of. Let the Thai people take care of internal affairs without interference of outside. Thailand/Siam has been around longer than most western countries. Every thing is not black and white. Just like there can be different shades of so called democracy. Let countries decide what is good for them.

"Let countries decide what is good for them"

When you talk of 'countries', that is generally done through elections.

[rubl]

Memo - The sooner PM General Prayuth gets away from the military uniform and into a suit the better image on the International stage Thailand will have, the varying amounts of fair selection of the reform members is disputable, non military aligned should vote for military candidates and vise versa, that way transparency would seem to be done, although just how much lobbying behind the scenes is being done and BHT changing hands would be a worry, not being elected by the people could raise some claims to corruption. If it was on race horse form: Don't expect any surprises here.

I have to disagree, PM Prayuth is doing the right thing. The military uniform is showing the Thai people stability. The rest of the world has enough problems of their own to take care of. Let the Thai people take care of internal affairs without interference of outside. Thailand/Siam has been around longer than most western countries. Every thing is not black and white. Just like there can be different shades of so called democracy. Let countries decide what is good for them.

"Let countries decide what is good for them"

When you talk of 'countries', that is generally done through elections.

Only in real democracies where there is no need for a slogan "respect my vote" as that is obvious, rather than the "till its counted" here in Thailand as the previous government so clearly showed.

Anyway, more than 7000 candidate applied or have been applied for, 250 or so will make it. Expect complaints from all who count, like TVF posters

Edited September 5, 2014 by rubl