Thai politics: Opinions divided on Ethics Assembly

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Opinions divided on Ethics Assembly
Kris Bhromsuthi
The Nation

Fears over make-up of new agency and nature of its work

BANGKOK: -- THE plan to establish a National Ethics Assembly has drawn flak, with claims that the proposed framework to draw members doesn't provide sufficient opportunity or standing for ordinary people.

Some also fear that ethical and moral issues can be very subjective - so implementation and enforcement of decisions could be a source of conflict or disagreement.

The Ethics Assembly - proposed by the National Reform Council (NRC) and Constitutional Drafting Committee (CDC) - is set to be an independent organisation with the task of defining and setting moral and ethical standards for civil servants, politicians and business people who deal with government.

Satithorn Thananithichote , a researcher from King Prajadhipok's Institute, said that while he thinks the idea of establishing the assembly to regulate ethical conduct of politicians and civil servants is plausible, he was concerned about the process through which members would be appointed.

He said he was not convinced the framework proposed would result in people's representatives truly being selected, given the CDC and NRC have said they want a "people's assembly" that empowers the citizen sector to regulate public officials.

CDC member Thawilwadee Bureekul said she wanted the Ethics Assembly to truly be a people's assembly that can play a role in examining public officials' moral and ethical conduct. However, she feared that under the current proposal, the Ethics Assembly could turn into another independent agency that will be run by appointed commissioners, detached from ordinary people.

"I want the assembly to be an organisation where ordinary people can have authority to examine moral and ethical conduct of public officials - and that isn't how it seems to have turned out," she said.

Instead of appointed commissioners, she would like the assembly to be a group of representatives from various people's networks, sectors, or organisation that come to join hands to achieve a common goal - for the citizens' sector to regulate the public sector.

So, she was disappointed that under the drafted plan, the assembly "will be no different to the National Anti-Corruption Commission."

The assembly could be very powerful, as the agency will be able to legally publicise information or evidence about fraud in order to raise public awareness about unethical behaviour. This would, in effect, impose a "social sanction" against individuals deemed guilty by the body. They can also forward any fraud-related information to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The assembly can also submit cases to the Election Commission (EC) for individuals to be judged by the public through voting. Individuals found guilty of fraud can be banned from politics for five years.

Independent organisations have played decisive roles in Thai politics since they were set up via the 1997 Constitution. They have also been caught at the centre of political con?troversy, accused by rivals of being politicised. And many have blamed these agencies for playing a sad role in events that had led to political crises and military coups in 2006 and 2014.

The most notorious cases were the Criminal Court's sentencing of former EC chairman Wassana Permlarp along with other EC members. They received four years in jail and were banned from voting for 10 years for conduct that provided Thai Rak Thai Party an advantage in the April 2006 election. The EC also refused, at first, to hold an election after the Pheu Thai government dissolved Parliament in late 2013 - a decision that some said showed partiality towards the People's Democratic Reform Committee.

The Constitutional Court and the judiciary also have been subject to criticism for controversial decisions dating back to the ruling in mid-2001 to acquit Thaksin Shinawatra in an infamous asset concealment case. The court then came under attack by Thaksin supporters for its decision to dissolve Thai Rak Thai Party in May 2007 and the People's Power Party in late 2008.

The NACC, meanwhile, played a key role in the impeachment of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in January, and has been outspoken in its criticism of her government's rice-pledging scheme from the very start. Many have applauded the NACC for its role in impeaching Yingluck, but supporters of the Pheu Thai government have damned it for alleged bias.

Aside from concern on how members will be selected by the assembly, there is also concern about the practicality of their task, defining and enforcing ethical and moral standards for public officials.

Former Democrat MP for Bangkok Attawit Suwanpakdi disagreed with the notion that handful of appointed "good" individuals should have the right to judge others on their ethical and moral conduct.

"I think the only person who has the right to point fingers at others and judge whether he or she is ethically right or wrong is God, or some sort of Buddhist saints. In reality, different people have different standards of moral or ethical conduct," Attawit said.

He doubted whether people with a perfect moral record exist, let alone be encouraged to be part of the new assembly.

The former MP fears that ethical issues, and the assembly, will be sources of future political conflict, especially if members and council members do not have direct links with the people and thus lack democratic legitimacy. However, Poldej Pinprateep, chairman of the NRC's committee on reforms for morality, ethics and governance, defended the proposal, saying it was necessary to foster moral and ethical standards among public officials, as they should be examples for ordinary people.

He said a lack of ethics among politicians and institutions was partly to blame for the political crises and graft that have wracked the country.

Poldej said the assembly would be very useful in working alongside the "hard power" of the justice system, if it prevents individuals from breaking the law. What the society appeared to lack, he said, was an alternative - a "soft power" to ensure individuals behave properly.

He said that in order to punish guilty individuals, the justice system requires hard evidence in order to rule on cases. This sometimes takes a very long time, or supporting evidence is sometimes not strong enough for a suspect to be ruled guilty.

General Lertrat Ratanavanich, spokesman for the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), also supports the assembly.

He said the responsibility to regulate politicians' ethical conduct is nothing new - it had long existed in Thai society. Previously the task was performed by the Ombudsman's Office, however it would soon be done by the Ethics Assembly.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Opinions-divided-on-Ethics-Assembly-30255608.html

-- The Nation 2015-03-09

[96tehtarp]

Power to the people isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, at least until "The Good People" decide so.

[oneday]

Coming up with a good set of ethics to follow for all politicians and government employees is all you need. If these people follow the ethics guidelines set down then no one will have to worry about people doing business with the government. That will take care of itself.

This is not a difficult concept and yet they are turning it into a problem.

Simple guidelines like no employee of the government will take gifts from anyone doing business with the government. Such things like a business person paying for the lunch of a government employee he or she is meeting with. This is a pretty obvious and simple ethic. US Postal Service employees in America are not allowed to receive gifts in the mailbox from customers at any time, especially Christmas. It removes all appearance of impropriety. It's a bit sad, but that's what you have to do to ensure it never looks like you are giving someone special favors or that you are receiving special favors.

[Srikcir]

Until ethic and moral standards are applied to one of the largest government organizations - the Thai military - , use of any sort of assembly is not meaningful. Equality under the law means the law applies to all Thai citizens, none of whom can grant themselves amnesty or exemption from the law.

The NRC needs to work on reforms that holds the military accountable for actions it takes outside the framework of a democratic constitution. But being a creation of the NCPO, it cannot and will not.