Meechai to reveal CDC decision on Monday

[Lite Beer]

Meechai to reveal CDC decision on Monday
KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN
THE NATION

Meechai

BANGKOK: -- MEECHAI RUCHUPAN, a leading candidate to head a new Constitution Drafting Committee, will make known on Monday whether he will accept the offer.

That was what Meechai told Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha when they met briefly yesterday at Government House, the PM told reporters after the meeting.

The prime minister allowed Meechai to see a list of candidates to become new constitution drafters to help him decide whether to accept the offer to chair the new CDC.

Meechai, a veteran expert and former Senate Speaker, had a 50-minute meeting with the prime minister yesterday afternoon at Government House, according to a source, who declined to disclose further details.

Earlier yesterday, Prayut said he would show Meechai a list of other nominees to become new constitution drafters so that he could decide if he wanted to work with them as the new CDC chairman. If Meechai said no, involved agencies would have to look for another candidate, he added, insisting that the list would be finalised by Monday.

Asked if former prime minister Anand Panyarachun was also a candidate for the new CDC, Prayut denied seeing his name. He also refused to answer a question whether he would approach Anand if Meechai turned down the offer to become the CDC chief. The PM said he did not want everyone to focus on who would take which position. Rather, he wanted them to see what they would get from a new charter.

He added that everyone could participate in the charter-drafting process by voicing their opinions through the channels provided.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that he was unaware of Meechai's meeting with Prayut. He added that the PM was now back from New York, and as chief of the military's ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), he would proceed with selecting the new drafters.

During Prayut's absence, Wissanu, Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan and others helped to gather information on new candidates for the CDC, and now the baton has been passed on to the NCPO and its chief, Wissanu said.

He reiterated that there were 30-40 candidates in total. However, he refused to reveal if they were familiar or new faces. Wissanu explained that it was difficult to say because there would always be criticism.

"If I go for the old faces, then the opposition would say, 'Why not some new people with fresh thoughts?' But if I go with the new faces, they would say these people lack experience," Wissanu said.

He also said the new CDC would be made up of people from every party, including military men, but he could not tell how many there would be. However, Wissanu stressed that the composition of the charter-drafting panel should be well rounded. They should be equipped with expertise in law, political science, economics, and social science, he said, explaining that the charter needed today was nothing like those in the old days.

"We have to take into account people-based politics, which include rights and freedoms," he said. The previous 36-member CDC was well equipped, he said.

With regard to the structure of the new CDC, he said the NCPO would only appoint the chairman and the 20 members. The structure in detail, such as who would be vice chairman or spokesman, would be taken care of by the committee, Wissanu explained.

National Legislative Assembly (NLA) President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said he believed Prayut would make his decision on the selection of the new CDC in a few days. Regarding the new reform steering council, he said its members would work to carry out the reforms planned by the now-defunct National Reform Council. And they would only deal with the NLA when they proposed some law amendments or new laws as authorised by the 2014 interim charter.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Meechai-to-reveal-CDC-decision-on-Monday-30270108.html

-- The Nation 2015-10-03

[oldsailor35]

Obviously its a job for Suthep, as he was constantly advising the General throughout the coup period.

[Srikcir]

Why is the list of candidates to become new constitution drafters a secret, except to those people selected by Prayut as possible chariman of the CDC?

If the Thai people are truly participants in the charter process as Prayut insists they are, they should know what candidates were chosen by Prayut. The deference that Prayut is giving Meechai seems to indicate that Meechai will have a say in who the CDC candidates are. Surely Meechai will appreciate such power.

[Solomon]

Why is the list of candidates to become new constitution drafters a secret, except to those people selected by Prayut as possible chariman of the CDC?

If the Thai people are truly participants in the charter process as Prayut insists they are, they should know what candidates were chosen by Prayut. The deference that Prayut is giving Meechai seems to indicate that Meechai will have a say in who the CDC candidates are. Surely Meechai will appreciate such power.

When what you do is against the peoples interests and aimed solely at prolonging your own unwanted tenure and maximising the ability for you and your backers to continue your decades old raping of the public purse - then clearly everything you do has to be kept secret for as long as possible.

Single internet gateway anyone????

[bamnutsak]

Can't they find someone a bit older, and more experienced?

Looks like this chap was PM of Thailand for a fortnight back in 1992.

I'm sure he will do a bang-up job, but it's not hard to predict that this next draft will fail either at one of Junta's "official" bodies, a referendum, or via a future coup.

[waldroj]

Albert Einstein is credited as saying “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.

When the CDC Mark II members are selected shortly, they will begin work on another draft Constitution (after the rejection of Mark I by the NRC).

At least Mark II will be put to a referendum! That’s one difference I suppose.

Then, if accepted, it will become the 20^th such document in Thailand since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932!

It seems the main reasons Mark I failed to get the nod from the NRC are:

• That it sought to curb the authority of elected politicians; and,
• It included the formation of a National Strategic Reform and Reconciliation Commission (as recommended by Cabinet).

The NSRRC would have guided the country through the reform process, but more controversially, it would also have had the authority to take over executive and legislative power from an elected government in times of crisis.

So, with Mark II about to commence, there seems to be mixed messages coming from the junta.

Allowing a likely chair-person to accept or decline based on the makeup of the other members should ring alarm bells.

It could suggest that there may be deep divisions within the Mark II members, or at the opposite extreme the members may well be a bias bunch of junta stooges. Either way, the end result could provide an outcome most favourable for the PM.

The PM has been reported in this article as saying that everyone could participate in the charter-drafting process by voicing their opinions through the channels provided (whatever these channels are). One can only hope Thai’s avail themselves of this opportunity to change things.

Also in this article, Deputy PM Wissanu says that Mark II would be made up of people from every party, including military men. However, he stressed that its composition should be well rounded and equipped with expertise in law, political science, economics, and social science. How is this different from the members of Mark I?

Wissanu also noted that the NCPO would only appoint the chairman and the 20 members to Mark II. The smaller membership should help decision making.

If Thailand is to escape the Einstein’s Insanity warning, let’s hope Mark II can produce a draft that is both different (to past Constitutions), and most importantly, is acceptable to the Thai people at the referendum. Then, of course, everyone can sit back and hope that a different result has finally been achieved.

That said, Mark II may still stumble at the last hurdle. Should the referendum not endorse the draft, then you guessed it, Prayut stays in power, and the whole sorry process will need to begin over again!

Now that would be insane!

[Thaidream]

It would seem to me that there may be a middle road- there may be a transition phase in which the General cedes power to an appointed civilian government- and then after a period of time elections take place. The military goes back to the barracks and some of the Generals become 'civilian' cabinet members alongside others who are experts in certain fields.

[bamnutsak]

It would seem to me that there may be a middle road

Ah yes, the vaunted Middle Path.

It would seem to me that the Military Junta has no intention of turning over the reigns of power, either to an appointed "civilian" (attn all military: uniforms off) government, or to an elected government, until well into the 2020's.

But if that yellow kool-aid works for you, go for it.

[Johnniey]

You know what are commonly called Meechai in Thailand after the other Meechai who was Health Minister back in the 80s or 90s, despite being half Scottish.

[smutcakes]

I can hardly contain my excitement with some geriatric employee of the NCPO coming out of retirement to have a stab at another of his attempted Constitutions.

Its as if they are trying to build it up to be some amazing coup for him to be the Chairman. Everyone knows him and what he stands for.

[webfact]

Meechai expected to reveal stance on new charter drafting team today
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- TALKS between Meechai Ruchupan and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on whether the former accepts an offer to become chairman of the new charter drafting committee may centre on an amendment to the interim charter, said prominent political observer Suriyasai Katasila.

Prayut was reluctant to make a call on the matter and opted to first consult the National Council for Peace and Order today, Suriyasai observed.

It is expected Meechai will give his answer on whether he will accept the post today.

Meechai's condition for taking the job might involves changes to holding a referendum on the new charter, said Suriyasai, deputy dean of Rangsit University’s Social Innovation College and the director of the Thailand Reform Institute.

It was previously reported the Meechai did not want to hold a referendum,

Suriyasai said a referendum should be held because the new constitution's legitimacy relied not only on its content and origin but also on the people's participation at the last stage.

He also noted there were both pros and cons to Meechai - who sits on the junta's National Council for Peace and Order - landing the Constitution Drafting Committee chairmanship.

"If Meechai Ruchupan accepts the chair position of the CDC, there could be scepticism about the committee's independence," he said.

"[People might question] if he is only the NCPO's legal handyman because Meechai also has a post in the NCPO," he said.

Suriyasai said the junta would have to prepare an explanation if that happened because it would be a valid point.

The positive side of having Meechai sitting as the committee's chair would be that the junta and the charter drafters could work very closely and as such avoid the problems the now-defunct first CDC had, he said.

Meanwhile, Anusorn Eamsa-ad, the Pheu Thai Party's acting deputy spokesman, said people would now be keeping an eye on the content of the charter rather than who was going to sit on the drafting panel because the draft would turn out the way the powers that be planned

So it did not matter if Meechai accepted the position or not, he said.

Anusorn said the most difficult part about

people sitting on the new charter drafting body was having to sacrifice their reputation because they have seen what happened to the previous charter drafter head Bowornsak Uwanno, whose draft was

rejected last month .

He reiterated that people want to see a democratic charter with no hidden agenda or anything attached that would allow the powers that be to stay in power further.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Meechai-expected-to-reveal-stance-on-new-charter-d-30270203.html


-- The Nation 2015-10-05

[Mango Bob]

Oh, the suspend is killing me.