Growing calling to close any changes
Opposition is growing to change parts of the 2017 constitution, particularly those that pertain to the moral standards for political officeholders, are being proposed by the ruling Pheu Thai Party and the main opposition People’s Party ( PP ).
On Saturday, a legislator and coalition partner, the Bhumjaithai Party, joined growing calls to close any modifications to these charter provisions.
They were responding to Pheu Thai’s distribution of its limited contract article bill to the House next Wednesday, which followed next year’s distribution of a similar bill by the PP.
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha predicted that the Lower House’s debate on the bills would probably start in the middle of October, if not sooner than that, but certainly not later than that month as formerly reported.
Part 160, which specifies requirements for those wishing to join the government, is one of the contract provisions that needs to be changed.
It specifies that they must be blatantly fair and that they must not have engaged in any serious ethics-related offenses against political officeholders.
Pol Col Kob Atchanakitti, a lawmaker known to be affiliated with the so-called “blue” station, a guide to Bhumjaithai, opposed the program to alter contract rules regarding ethics for democratic office-holders.
“Ethics are a major concern for officials. If they do n’t have ethics, they should quit politics and stay at home. He said,” Parliament is certainly a place where they can accomplish whatever they please.”
Instead of attempting to amend the constitution, they should concentrate on resolving issues that affect persons. Officials “violate the law,” according to Pol Col Kob, who causes social problems.
Paradorn Prissanantakul, Deputy House Speaker and Bhumjaithai MP, said any changes to the contract must be in the people’s best interests.
” Would the proposed contract change gain officials? No one pays attention to officials who are involved in the contract change. The people must have the ultimate say”, Mr Paradorn said.
The plan to update the ethical standards for social officeholders was opposed by Chaichana Detdecho, the deputy chief of the partnership companion Democrat Party.
He claimed that those who take on government positions must be prepared to be scrutinized in accordance with the network’s moral standards.
Paiboon Nititawan, secretary-general of the Palang Pracharath Party, warned that any effort by officials to amend the network’s moral standards for their own advantage could lead to a conflict of interest.
Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, deputy leader of the United Thai Nation Party ( UTN), another coalition partner, previously opposed such amendments.
He claimed that the original purpose of Sections 160( 4 ) and ( 5 ) of the charter was to prevent those who do not uphold certain moral standards from holding public office. Any effort to denigrate this might make it easier for those with weak morals to rise to power, he said.
Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong had formerly supported amending the charter’s ethics guidelines for political officeholders, arguing that the definition of “honesty” set forth in those guidelines is ambiguous.
Yet, in what seemed to be a return, Pol Col Tawee, head of the Prachachart Party, said on Saturday he agreed with maintaining the social norms, though he emphasised that such an honest code may be clearly defined and written so it can be used as a guide.
Former vote commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn previously warned that any attempts to modify the charter, especially those that deal with the issues of ethics for politicians and the authority of independent agencies, might have failed.
Mr. Somchai cited the Pheu Thai Party’s earlier attempt to pass a costs during the Yingluck Shinawatra management, which sparked widespread street protests and led to the revolution that ended the Pheu Thai-led government in 2014.
The cover parole act was viewed as a legal ruse to deceive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra into giving her older brother a face.