The balance of power between civilians and military along with the common needs of the nation need to be established before national reform can go ahead, a seminar has been told.
Emeritus professor Suchit Bunbongkarn said the coup-makers, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), has yet to come up with a theory on how the country can be returned to the hands of civilians after the military seized power.
Suchit: Liberties must be maintained
Thailand requires an equal balance to maintain the liberties of its citizens and for them to respect rules and laws, said the former dean of Chulalongkorn University's political science faculty.
Prof Suchit was speaking at a seminar about Thailand's reform organised by Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Security and International Studies.
He also raised concerns about the patronage system between politicians and bureaucracy and queried the checks and balances mechanisms.
Prof Suchit is unsure if politicians and public servants will put the public's interests ahead of self-interest.
In addition, the political party system needs to be reformed to ensure a party is not controlled by one or two people.
"It will take years for social and political mobilisation following these ways, but hopefully, some steps will be taken," he said.
Gothom Arya, of Mahidol University's Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, said Thai society needs to discuss common values first before it can take steps towards new political discourses.
Mr Gothom, also a former election commissioner, said people from different levels of society should be involved in the dialogue on reform.
The military junta has proposed 12 national core values for Thai people based on religion, monarchy, and the national pillars, as well as other virtues including filial piety towards parents, guardians and teachers.
"Other nations such as the US have four, the EU, Indonesia, and Singapore have five. But our social contract should be explored and debated, not just given to or imposed on us by our big brothers," he said.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, Chulalongkorn University's political associate professor and security adviser to the deputy prime minister and minister of defence, said people might describe the current situation as "democracy closed for repair" but the military has been trying to gain the public's confidence and bring peace to society, along with boosting the economy and setting the course for reform.
"Of course, there will be more than 11 reform areas [ as stipulated in the interim charter], but central for Thailand now are political reforms such as election rules and checks and balances to pave the way for other reforms to come," said Mr Panitan.