Abbot and former protest leader Luang Pu Buddha Issara suggested Thursday that legislation be drafted requiring audits of temples and high-ranking Buddhist monks, including members of the Supreme Sangha Council.
Luang Pu Buddha Issara (Bangkok Post file photo)
The abbot of Wat Ornoy in Nakhon Pathom province and a former People's Democratic Reform Committee leader wrote in a letter to National Reform Council chairman Thienchay Kiranananda that the new law should be part of planned national reforms.
The legislation could be used to prevent and suppress corruption in the monastic circle, he added in the letter, which also was sent to NRC first deputy chairman Bowornsak Uwanno.
Luang Pu Buddha Issara said it was not only politicians that should be controlled and monitored by authorities. Monks and temples should also be held accountable and their assets examined. Monastic officials should be able to explain how their wealth was acquired, he wrote.
He noted that some monks have hundreds of million baht worth of assets, despite the fact that they are supposed to make their living by begging for alms. Some temples also act as financial supporters for politicians, said the activist monk.
Members of the Supreme Sangkha Council and monastic leaders of all levels should be subject to have their assets scrutinised by the Office of the Auditor General because they, like government officials, receive their salaries from the state budget, Luang Pu Buddha Issara said.