Lost S44 bid not the end

Lost S44 bid not the end

After putting up a tough fight, the Prayut Chan-o-cha coalition government has narrowly defeated a motion to set up a panel to study the impact of orders issued under the contentious Section 44 of the coup charter. However, there is very little for it to feel proud about.

Their victory came after the opposition bloc staged a walkout in protest at the vote. Last week, they carried out a similar protest after government whips called a new vote following the ruling coalition's shock defeat in the motion, which was initiated by the Future Forward Party's secretary-general, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul.

The government blamed its initial defeat on "rebels" from the Democrat Party -- reflecting the kind of problems it faces in running a coalition government with a razor-thin majority.

Last week, the opposition managed to edge out the ruling camp by only four votes by 234-230. In attempting to call a new vote, government whips invoked parliament regulation No.85, effectively turning the meeting into chaos with the opposition bloc walking out of the proceedings.

To win the necessary votes, Gen Prayut had to call a meeting with all the coalition partners ahead of yesterday's House session. It looks like the government had no choice but to resort to every possible play in the book to secure its political survival.

The embattled premier even threatened to dissolve the House and reshuffle the cabinet. Key opposition figures claimed that the government tried to "buy" support -- an allegation which seemed substantiated by the fact that some opposition members returned to their seats, allowing the government to secure a quorum for the recount.

As a result, the opposition is threatening to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Even though it managed to secure the support of its coalition partners this time, conflicts and rifts within the government are becoming more pronounced, and it is just a matter of time before the matter snowballs into a crisis.

It is a pity that the Section 44 issue has been reduced to a political game. The fact is that this controversial section of the interim charter had enormous impacts on the country at a time when it lacked any internal checks and balances.

Gen Prayut has insisted the orders he issued under Section 44 were in line with the law.

Under the military regime, the coup-installed National Legislative Assembly acted more like a rubber stamp for the military government -- leading to complaints about abuse of power by the regime.

According to iLaw, a non-profit organisation advocating human rights, democracy and social justice, there were at least 200 orders issued under Section 44 which gave Gen Prayut -- as head of the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order -- powers to bypass regular laws from the May 22, 2014 putsch until the end of last year.

Some of the orders infringed upon people's rights enormously. Some orders caused long-term problems, including the order that allows investors to launch their projects while still conducting environmental impact assessments.

Even though the opposition has lost this round, this does not mean that the previous regime's orders should not face scrutiny.

The opposition should persevere in this regard, for example with further attempts to set up a committee to study the matter, as the public needs to understand the effects of these undemocratically issued orders.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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