Hands off, PM warned

Not elected to alter the constitution

Supawadee Susanpoolthong

Eleven million people did not elect Thaksin Shinawatra just so he could amend the constitution and clip the wings of independent agencies, critics said yesterday.

The prime minister should not use a purely personal matter to decide what was in the country's best interests.

Somkid Lertpaitoon, Thammasat law lecturer and former charter writer, said Mr Thaksin was destroying the credibility of the independent agencies-key mechanisms of political reform-with an irrelevant argument that a few people should not be empowered to oust a politician elected by millions of people. "The National Counter Corruption Commission and the Constitutional Court have done their duty well so far. If the charter is to be amended then these independent agencies must have even more freedom to act," Mr Somkid said.

"He should look at what would benefit the country. Rather than clipping the powers of the NCCC and the court, he should consider what could happen in the future if no effective mechanisms are there as checks on politicians."

Pipob Thongchai, chairman of the Campaign for Democracy, said Mr Thaksin should never have suggested amending the charter since he was directly involved in a Constitutional Court case. "Amending the charter is a national-level matter and should not be decided on the basis of a personal case. It shows that politicians are afraid to be checked on," Mr Pipob said.

Mr Thaksin was critical of Constitutional Court president Prasert Nasakul after the verdict was announced in his wealth concealment case. He suggested the powers of the NCCC and the court be curbed because a mere handful of people should not have the right to oust a politician elected by the masses. Mr Somkid said it was wrong for Mr Thaksin to attack an individual judge. It undermined the credibility of the court. He did not think Mr Prasert had any vested interest in the case as implied by Mr Thaksin's criticism. "If the prime minister truly believes this to be the case he should start proceedings to oust the judges from the court," Mr Somkid said.

The 11 million people who voted for Thai Rak Thai in the general election did so because of policies such as 30-baht health care and a debt moratorium for farmers, or because they liked his leadership. They did not elect Mr Thaksin to amend the charter.

"This constitution is owned by the people. Amending it is a national undertaking which must be checked by the people. It is not a matter for MPs and senators to decide what to amend, especially after they have just been cleared by an inquiry," Mr Somkid said.

Mr Thaksin's argument that in the US the president could only be impeached by Congress and not by "just a handful of people", showed he was confused, Mr Somkid said. The Thai charter also empowered the Senate to oust the prime minister. The assets probe was a separate matter to be handled by the corruption commission and the Constitutional Court.

In the past, people had shown confidence in the independent agencies, even though the members were not elected.

Mr Pipob said the prime minister was wrong to thank only the judges who had voted for him rather than the whole court. This meant those who voted against him had not been just in his opinion.

"The NCCC and Constitutional Court may have some imperfections but many of the cases they have handled prove they work well. They should have more rather than less freedom to do their work," Mr Pipob said.

He added: "As it is, the government has such an overwhelming vote as to be a parliamentary dictatorship. There are few mechanisms to check this power in the House and the powers of the independent agencies should not be diminished."