Reforms to be unbiased, except against 'people like Thaksin': NRC member

[rickirs]

If Thailand is on the road to democracy, North Korea has already built the highway around the world.

[rickirs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

So not all men are equal.

And the law cannot be universally applied.

No wonder Thaksin is the only one in Thailand who have to pay capital gain tax from selling SHIN shares.

He deserves it.

I like laws that are biased against people who are corrupt, abuse of power, do vote buying and let kill 3000 people in his war against drugs....

You'll find out that most countries laws are biased against such people. Usually they even put them into jail....

Yes, we can't have laws applying equally to all.

Whatever next, democracy?

Wake me when the Rule of Law applies with equality to all covers the military.

[seajae]

trust kaosod to twist what was actually said, they never said except for thaksin that is simple sensationalism by this crap news team, they said it will stop people like thaksin from abusing their power which is exactly what is needed. No wonder the pm wants pathetic sh*t like this reigned in, they cant help themselves and are trying to create anger in the reds, they need to invent the news to suit their own biased views, what a pathetic excuse for a reporter to write this sh*t.

[tbthailand]

trust kaosod to twist what was actually said, they never said except for thaksin that is simple sensationalism by this crap news team, they said it will stop people like thaksin from abusing their power which is exactly what is needed. No wonder the pm wants pathetic sh*t like this reigned in, they cant help themselves and are trying to create anger in the reds, they need to invent the news to suit their own biased views, what a pathetic excuse for a reporter to write this sh*t.

Go! Go! NCPO!

Go! Go! NCPO!

Go! Go! NCPO! Yeeeeeahhhhhh!!!

[naboo]

How dare Thaksin get away with abusing his power?

Didn't he realise that abusing your power is an art reserved for only the Thaiest of Thais. These common northerners are getting above their station!

I fear this solution is going to fail, rightly so.

[BirdsandBooze]

Status Quo returned. Mission accomplished.

[AleG]

Preventing nepotistic kleptocrats from gaining power seems to be anathema to Democracy to some people. "Shows bias" they say, good grief.

Thaksin supporters are like political snake oil sellers, they'll cry you are against medicine and the well being of people as they try to sell their poison and pass it as a miracle cure to all ailments.

[fab4]

Preventing nepotistic kleptocrats from gaining power seems to be anathema to Democracy to some people. "Shows bias" they say, good grief.

Thaksin supporters are like political snake oil sellers, they'll cry you are against medicine and the well being of people as they try to sell their poison and pass it as a miracle cure to all ailments.

The next thing you know people will be defending a military coup as the only alternative to democracy.

[than]

Preventing nepotistic kleptocrats from gaining power seems to be anathema to Democracy to some people. "Shows bias" they say, good grief.

Thaksin supporters are like political snake oil sellers, they'll cry you are against medicine and the well being of people as they try to sell their poison and pass it as a miracle cure to all ailments.

The next thing you know people will be defending a military coup as the only alternative to democracy.

When Democracy was bias by criminal and corrupt politician

[wackybacky]

First thing I told myself when i read the headline was that 'this is a Khaosod report'

Well blow me down.... was I right, or was I right.

[AleG]

Preventing nepotistic kleptocrats from gaining power seems to be anathema to Democracy to some people. "Shows bias" they say, good grief.

Thaksin supporters are like political snake oil sellers, they'll cry you are against medicine and the well being of people as they try to sell their poison and pass it as a miracle cure to all ailments.

The next thing you know people will be defending a military coup as the only alternative to democracy.

Right on cue.

Who is defending a military coup as the only alternative to democracy?

[Thaimaishoe]

"'The drafting of the Constitution needs to produce long-term benefits without bias against any individual, but if the drafting is meant to prevent people who abuse their power - people like Thaksin - from entering politics, it can be done," Jermsak Pinthong said yesterday."

While I have nothing but contempt for thaksin and his acolytes who abused their time in power and were responsible for the extra judicial butchery that masqueraded as a war on drugs, likewise the economic ineptitude and criminal methods of rule that was PT, you can't bar "certain people" from power.

Make them responsible for their anise of power, gaol them for their criminal actions, strip them of their ill gained wealth, yes.

But you cannot bar people from standing for office because of their name or family.

I think what he is saying is not to ban just Shinawatras, but to make sure anyone who is a convicted criminal, no matter what colour their shirt is, will not only not be able to be in Government, but to also limit their influence on politics and the police.

eg Thailand should never again have a PM, Parliament & Heads of Police and DSI who are answerable to a convicted criminal living overseas

I think you are reading MUCH more into his statement than was said, or meant. I think he means only to bar Shinawatras and those he and the other yellow shirts can link to him. Forget barring criminals... that would eliminate EVERY politician EVER! No this coup, this process, is not an altruistic endeavour, this is intended to be a daggar in the heart of democracy. The article listed many leaders of the anti-gov protests that are now seated at this deciding table... how many pro-gov people are seated there? I honestly don't know the answer, but my money is on none. This is not an honest process, stop trying to dress it up as such.

You thought you had a fake democracy before... wait till you see what emerges from beind these doors.

[heybruce]

The last two paragraphs of the article are:

Meanwhile, another NRC member, political science professor Amorn Wanichwiwat, promised to reform Thailand with a "Buddhist moral system" that only allows "Good People" to take political office.

"There has to be a selection process for the legislative and administrative branches, to screen for good people and moral people who follow the teachings of Buddhism, especially the Five Precepts," said Amorn, who, like Jermsak, was a drafter of the 2007 Constitution.

It seems like Thai-style democracy will be similar to Iranian-style democracy, where the clerics decide who can run in an election, or Chinese-style democracy, where the Communist Party decides. In other words, undemocratic democracy.

[The stuttering parrot]

The problem with making statements like this only fires up the people who have been robbed in the last 2 elections where one was the greatest landslide in thai history and the other the second greatest.

They talk about equality yet it seems some people are more equal than others according to the Bangkok elite.

It doesn't matter what colours you wear the elite have always looked down on the north and this is yet a further example of we know better than you.

If they think they have won the battle of hearts and minds they are sadly mistaken no matter how may bs polls they put out.

[norstatin]

trust kaosod to twist what was actually said, they never said except for thaksin that is simple sensationalism by this crap news team, they said it will stop people like thaksin from abusing their power which is exactly what is needed. No wonder the pm wants pathetic sh*t like this reigned in, they cant help themselves and are trying to create anger in the reds, they need to invent the news to suit their own biased views, what a pathetic excuse for a reporter to write this sh*t.

Excellent assessment of the lying tripe that Khaosod produces and that the red shirts lap it up as gospel.

[manarak]

They need to:

- set a limit to global tax rate in the constitution

- set a limit to public debt in the constitution

- make it possible to get prosecuted for broken electoral promises

- make political party financing confidential but traceable by the EC, police and all parties' lawyers

job done.

[Robby nz]

"'The drafting of the Constitution needs to produce long-term benefits without bias against any individual, but if the drafting is meant to prevent people who abuse their power - people like Thaksin - from entering politics, it can be done," Jermsak Pinthong said yesterday."

While I have nothing but contempt for thaksin and his acolytes who abused their time in power and were responsible for the extra judicial butchery that masqueraded as a war on drugs, likewise the economic ineptitude and criminal methods of rule that was PT, you can't bar "certain people" from power.

Make them responsible for their anise of power, gaol them for their criminal actions, strip them of their ill gained wealth, yes.

But you cannot bar people from standing for office because of their name or family.

I think what he is saying is not to ban just Shinawatras, but to make sure anyone who is a convicted criminal, no matter what colour their shirt is, will not only not be able to be in Government, but to also limit their influence on politics and the police.

eg Thailand should never again have a PM, Parliament & Heads of Police and DSI who are answerable to a convicted criminal living overseas

I think you are reading MUCH more into his statement than was said, or meant. I think he means only to bar Shinawatras and those he and the other yellow shirts can link to him. Forget barring criminals... that would eliminate EVERY politician EVER! No this coup, this process, is not an altruistic endeavour, this is intended to be a daggar in the heart of democracy. The article listed many leaders of the anti-gov protests that are now seated at this deciding table... how many pro-gov people are seated there? I honestly don't know the answer, but my money is on none. This is not an honest process, stop trying to dress it up as such.

You thought you had a fake democracy before... wait till you see what emerges from beind these doors.

You think wrong then.

He used Thaksin as an example of the corruption and nepotism that needs to be eliminated from politics and not just Thai politics.

Thaksin of course has been and still is a great example of all that is bad in politics, sure he did some things for the poor at the start while filling his own pockets.

The usual red apologists have chosen to ignore the important word LIKE in the statement, as in making a comparison. That one word changes the meaning completely.

[khunjamesjohnson]

Some people are more equal than others.

Isn't that the root of Thailand's problems?

[selftaopath]

So not all men are equal.

And the law cannot be universally applied.

No wonder Thaksin is the only one in Thailand who have to pay capital gain tax from selling SHIN shares.

He deserves it.

I like laws that are biased against people who are corrupt, abuse of power, do vote buying and let kill 3000 people in his war against drugs....

You'll find out that most countries laws are biased against such people. Usually they even put them into jail....

AMEN.

[khunjamesjohnson]

Ask the General about the 3,000 drug war deaths.

People like to pin that one on Thaksin but for some reason....no investigation.

[lildragon]

And what about corrupt people like his mate Suthep? Or because he is a monk now he is a 'good person' right?

The merry go round of elites fighting for power while shitting on the little guy continues. They're all just as bad as each other.

[kimamey]

It will be bias against those who commit crime, corruption or election fraud regardless of who they are.

That Thaksin has done all of these only make him a great example.

There were clauses in both previous constitutions barring those with criminal records from being MP's or senators but still those, like for instance Jutaporn and Weng and others who were on bail for serious charges, managed to be made MP's.

It is obvious therefor that there needs to be changes made to stop this in the future and to stop any other convicted criminal on the run from running a Government.

Another recently mentioned change is to abolish the statute of limitations for political crime, a good move which should be extended to other crimes as well, think red bull.

This shouldn't be just about Thaksin but if the reforms attempt to stop corruption or abuse of power, as is hoped, and that affects him then fine and the same for anyone else as well.

The NRC and all other bodies should be more balanced but if people are openly supporting a convicted criminal apparently running the country from outside the laws of Thailand then it's difficult to see how they could be accepted. There must be some moderate supporters of the PTP side who could be chosen unless the all rely on Thaksin for their livelihoods. It doesn't matter how good a job they do and how unbiased if it doesn't look unbiased.

[maxme]

Sutheps mates and backers really have got everything they wanted haven't they!

Yes they did.. and the beauty of it is that without Thaksins push for his amnesty this would never have happened.

I bet the guy hates himself for over reaching.

I bet quite a few red lovers here on the forum will be sad for many months to come.

Come on robblok, you're better than that.

I guess now when Suthep became a monk, all of his past sins and misconducts were forgiven. Surely you would welcome that idea if Jatuporn would to pull that stunt.

[kimamey]

Sutheps mates and backers really have got everything they wanted haven't they!

Maybe so but not everyone who is against corruption, abuse of power, Thaksin and the PTP is a Suthep supporter.

I agreed with his protests to start with as they were peaceful and were a demonstration of what many people felt. I didn't agree with how it ended up with violence although it's not clear how much of that was down to him personally. Although I don't support coups if this one leads to at least some improvement then it won't all be bad.

There was a chance to stop it getting to a coup when Abhisit put forward his ideas and Yingluck said they should be looked at. She may have been pointless as a politician and PM but her one quality that I could see was her willingness to talk. It might have come to nothing but it wasn't given a chance. Since she was supposed to be in charge it makes me wonder why it seemed not to have happened. Did someone not want compromise even though it could have damaged Suthep's push? Was someone more concerned about Abhisit turning things his way by not being as aggressive as Suthep.

[kimamey]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

So not all men are equal.

And the law cannot be universally applied.

No wonder Thaksin is the only one in Thailand who have to pay capital gain tax from selling SHIN shares.

He deserves it.

I like laws that are biased against people who are corrupt, abuse of power, do vote buying and let kill 3000 people in his war against drugs....

You'll find out that most countries laws are biased against such people. Usually they even put them into jail....

Most democracies hope that people are at least slightly informed - and if if you think that the war on drugs and the death toll from it were solely Thaksin's responsibility and that others a little closer to the current power centre played no role, you've just failed that test.

It may not have been solely his responsibility but he gave the original orders so if you take account of the charges against Abhisit and Suthep then he must be partly responsible along with the others you mention as well.

It's worth remembering that it was Thaksin's obsession with his own amnesty that lead to an amnesty offer to A & S over the deaths in 2010. If we look at part of a white paper by Robert Amsterdam who's pretty much anti army anti Democrat and anti Abhisit and Suthep and pro PTP Thaksin redshirt we can see how serious he thinks those deaths were.

A review of the evidence suggests that the Abhisit administration and the Royal Thai

Army could be responsible for a series of human rights violations, possible crimes

against humanity, and a systematic campaign of political persecution. While it is the

Thai government’s duty under International Law to investigate its own abuses and

bring those responsible to justice, it is the moral responsibility of the international

community to ensure that the possible criminal conduct of the regime is not the

subject of a cover-up.

The army were ignored and the focus was on Abhisit and Suthep and they were offered an amnesty. There's more to say against Thaksin and his objectives but that's not the topic.

The reforms need to at least try to stop corruption and abuse of power by all sides and to do that everyone involved will need to be unbiased and to tackle changes to elections, parliamentary behaviour and the judicial process amongst others.

[wwest5829]

So not all men are equal.

And the law cannot be universally applied.

No wonder Thaksin is the only one in Thailand who have to pay capital gain tax from selling SHIN shares.

He deserves it.

I like laws that are biased against people who are corrupt, abuse of power, do vote buying and let kill 3000 people in his war against drugs....

You'll find out that most countries laws are biased against such people. Usually they even put them into jail....

Yes, many countries laws oppose corruption. There might be a difference, however, in applying those laws across the political divide. I do not find fault with citing the corruption under Thaksin, it is well documented. I do find fault at falsely misleading people by pointing only to his administration and not other administrations. Thailand, unfortunately, has a well known history of political corruption which extends may years before Thaksin. For my money, Thaksin gained such popularity, in good measure, because previous administrations failure to serve the majority of the Thai people.

[norstatin]

The person that ordered the coup is the richest most corrupt person in Thailand. Worth billions and still takes millions a day in public assistance.

Everybody knows that.

Who?

[Chris Lawrence]

People like 'Dictators'?

People like 'ones that overthrow an elected government'?

People that 'prevent opposition and the representation of rural Thais'?

People that 'abuse the rights of others and traffic in human misery to advance their business interests'?

People that 'as elected or appointed representatives of Government refuse to list their financial interests'?

As long as it was unbiased I thought the above could also be added, in adopting a fair and reasonable approach while weeding out possible forms of corruption.

[Acharn]

So not all men are equal.

And the law cannot be universally applied.

No wonder Thaksin is the only one in Thailand who have to pay capital gain tax from selling SHIN shares.

He deserves it.

I like laws that are biased against people who are corrupt, abuse of power, do vote buying and let kill 3000 people in his war against drugs....

You'll find out that most countries laws are biased against such people. Usually they even put them into jail....

All well and good. Now, please tell us what laws you propose that would have those effects and not harm innocent people. Bonus Points: Tell how your proposed laws are different from existing laws in The People's Republic of China and the United States, two countries notorious for corruption and abuse of power (or didn't you know that?).

[Eric Loh]

So far so good for the schemers and the plotters but they just don't get it. Didn't they tried this before with the same method from protest to coup to constitution changes and yet the same election result. Crazy to doing this again and hoping to get a different result.

It's the voters that they should pay more attention, not bias structural reform to stop one man. At the end of the day, voters can see discrimination and unfairness and will only help to consolidate their feeling and support for Thaksin.

No reform or law are more powerful than the freedom of choice and you can't cap their feelings from boiling over if the establishment continue to take side and discriminate.

The statement of bias declaration by Jermsak is counter productive and a good telling of by the PM is very much warranted. It has done a lot of damage to the coup and to the PM credibility.