NRC members divided on Thai charter provisions

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SPECIAL REPORT
NRC members divided on charter provisions
Marisa Ishikawa,
Wasamon Audjarint,
Kasamakorn Chanwanpen
The Nation

Many also opposed to giving the government another two years to complete reforms

BANGKOK: -- The provision for a non-MP prime minister, the mixed proportional election system, and selection of Senate members remained major concerns in the eyes of some reformers who regard them as the weakest points in the new constitution, which are capable of creating more political trouble in the future when they come into force.

The mixed-proportional election system would cause instability in the administration and the selected Senate has too much power to impeach political position holders, according to National Reform Council (NRC) member Seree Suwanpanont.

The NRC's committee on political and legal reform is analysing the content of the draft charter for the NRC members, to enable them to make a clear decision when they vote on the charter next month, he said.

"We would know how the members would vote on the constitution only when the drafting committee sends us the final draft late this month," he said, and noted that political circumstance would also be taken into consideration for the vote.

Sonthirat Sonthijirawong, an NRC member who chairs the Thai SMEs association, said his considerations in the new charter were the process of electing MPs and senators. He was ready to consider the election of 77 senators from each province, while the rest should come through a process of selection.

Jumpol Rodkhamdee, another NRC member and a former communication arts lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said his main concern was earmarking tax, which had recently caused a controversy in the media and among other involved actors.

He said allocation of funds for agencies like the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (THPF) and Thai PBS TV station would not impact public finances, as it was collected on top of what the alcoholic beverages and cigarettes companies had to pay.

NRC provincial member Charas Suthi-kulbutr was focused on issues like social inequality, civil society and community rights.

"I participated in the NRC because I want to fix such issues, so if there's something wrong with legislation on these matters, it's unlikely that I'll vote for the charter draft," Charas said.

Another NRC provincial member Chaiyaporn Thongprasert said his interest was the issue of decentralisation. "As a former civil servant, I know how the bureaucratic system works and what its organisational culture is like," he said.

The Nation conducted a survey among NRC members, who will determine the fate of the new Constitution, to find out how they would vote on the draft proposed by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC). They were also asked what additional question they would propose to ask the public in the national referendum scheduled to take place next year.

Many seemed "unsure" if it would be appropriate to seek another two years in power for the present government to carry out reforms, an idea being pushed by some reformers including Paiboon Nititawan.

More than 10 respondents offered such a reaction, saying they were not very sure if the public should be asked anything other than whether it would pass the draft charter.

"In my opinion, the referendum should only concern the Constitution and not anything else. It would be redundant to ask any extra question," said Chaiwat Limwattana, an NRC member and former governor of Kanchanaburi province.

Reformer Kasemsan Chinavaso, also a former senior civil servant, voiced a similar opinion, saying the two-year plan proposed might contradict the charter and the road map to democracy.

"If we propose such a question, it can be against the [interim] constitution. And [it] might result in draft amendments, which would take time and effort. What's even worse is that the 'reform before election' proposal doesn't match the road map that has already been set," he said.

Some said that those advocating such a proposal, which would inevitably delay the election, were "old faces" and their opinion did not represent that of the whole council.

"You know, these are the same old people who have always made such a move," said NRC member Chua Hunchinda, an expert on local administration.

He added: "The main task of the NRC is to come up with the reform plan and take care of the new charter draft so that the country can move on and have an election. I'm not sure any attempt to delay it [the election] would be right."

He also said that the timeframe proposed earlier was sufficient and that to drag it any longer would affect the image of the reform council as people might view as wanting to cling to power.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NRC-members-divided-on-charter-provisions-30266268.html

-- The Nation 2015-08-10