The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) seized power with the promise to rid the country of corruption, wasteful policies and practices allegedly pursued by the previous government led by Yingluck Shinawatra.
The coup council and other governing bodies resulting from it must lead by example. Otherwise, it will risk being the case of the pot calling the kettle black.
The military junta must have heard the criticism against members of its governing organisations who hold two or more full-time jobs at the same time.
The criticism will become even louder now that the remuneration of the members of the NCPO, National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and National Reform Council (NRC) have been revealed.
Earlier this week Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam helped cool the negative sentiment against concurrent duties by clarifying that political appointees who hold on to their civil service positions can receive a salary from only one source.
He added, however, that people with dual or triple responsibilities are still entitled to collect position allowances on an unlimited basis based on the number of posts they hold.
The principle may not be perfect but it's fair enough.
What has come as a surprise, therefore, is that has been revealed there is no salary for members of the NCPO, NLA and NRC, only position allowances and another lesser amount defined as additional payments.
The chief of the NCPO, for example, carries a position allowance of 74,420 baht and an additional payment of 45,000 baht.
This means Mr Wissanu's clarification is in vain. People who carry concurrent responsibilities in the NCPO, cabinet, NLA or NRC can simply receive remuneration from two or more sources without having to choose.
The doubling of responsibilities, and compensation, is not illegal as the provisional charter allows civil servants to take on political posts.
The question remains whether this is a fair practice especially if it seems the system is designed for concurrent position holders to reap unlimited benefits. Worse, this is hardly a model to battle conflicts of interest which in many cases are the harbinger of corruption.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as head of both the NCPO and government should not let this flaw fester until it gets his road to reform off to a bad start.
His mission of returning the country to peace and ensuring that it is a better, more egalitarian place for people from all backgrounds to realise their potential is crucial for the future of the country.
The junta has earned overwhelming support in many surveys of people's opinions about its performance. It has also managed to suppress most, if not all, dissenting voices and activities.
It suffices to say that Gen Prayuth and the military leaders now own the playing field. It's entirely up to them how they fare during this transitional government.
That is why it is all the more important that Mr Prayuth and his powerbrokers show the people how to run the country decently, instead of merely preaching about it.
One clear case in which the leaders can prove themselves worthy of their words is the controversial procurement of an expensive audio-visual system for the meeting rooms at Government House.
The scandal has raged on for a week but none of the powers-that-be has uttered a word about it. Not only are there clear irregularities about the equipment prices which seem much higher than market ones but their specifications are also in doubt.