Anti-Thaksin demonstrators form outside the Royal Thai Police headquarters yesterday as protest leaders asked the police to take action against the PM and some Cabinet members.

The directors of Egat Plc should resign to show responsibility for the failure of the state enterprise's privatisation, along with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Energy Minister Viset Choopiban and other ministers, Egat labour union chief Sirichai Mai-ngam said.

"Though this is a state policy, the board has been the major unit that has been pushing through the privatisation," he said, after a meeting with other key members of the union yesterday at Egat's headquarters in Bang Kruay.

Sirichai said Egat's directors were responsible for the privatisation flop, which has consumed a huge sum of money. He also demanded that legal advisers share responsibility for the failure.

A source at Egat said last week the agency had spent about Bt1 billion on the privatisation bid.

Viset said at the Energy Ministry's office that it was not the time to call for a change in the board of directors.

"Periodically, some directors' terms will end and they will be replaced. But right now, there will be no change until we have the interpretation [on Egat's status] from the Council of State," he said.

The Supreme Administrative Court last week nullified two decrees that legalised the privatisation of the agency and ruled that the privatisation was illegitimate.

The Finance Ministry last week noted that as a short cut, the power plants of Egat could be spun off.

The ruling encouraged civic groups who are against the Thaksin administration's sale of state enterprises, including PTT Plc.

They said they would find a way to nullify the privatisation of PTT,

which is already listed on the stock exchange.

Viset yesterday also instructed PTT president Prasert Bunsumpun to study all legal prospects involved with the privatisation of the agency in case civic groups launched a protest against the privatisation.

According to Sirichai, Egat's labour union will team up with the unions of other state enterprises in blocking the privatisation of other agencies including the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, Provincial Electricity Authority and Provincial Waterworks Authority.

He said Egat's union is also discussing a petition to the Administrative Court to nullify a water supply and distribution concession in Rayong as well as the dissolution of the Express Transport Organisation of Thailand.

Sirichai yesterday urged Egat employees to join the People's Alliance for Democracy's protest tomorrow to show their grievance over the privatisation.

Piyasvasti Amrananda, chairman of Kasikorn Asset Management and former secretary-general of the National Energy Policy Office, cautioned in a Thai newspaper that despite the ruling, the privatisation of Egat could berenewed but the government must be careful in following all necessary steps to ensure the legitimacy of the privatisation.

He noted the failure was attributable mainly to the fact that the government had neglected the public calls for two main points - the transfer of Egat's ownership of dams and power transmission grids back to the state as well as the law that would empower the Electricity Regulatory Board.

In its ruling, the Supreme Administrative Court said Egat has not yet transferred the ownership and the reported transfer so far was merely on the accounting aspect.

Amid calls for his resignation, Egat chief executive Kraisi Karnasuta yesterday hosted a meeting with top executives to explain the consequences of the court's ruling on Egat's status.

He told the executives that as the Council of State is sorting out the way to convert Egat Plc back to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Egat would halt all transactions.

That would include the planned investment with PTT on the import of liquefied natural gas.

Energy Reporters

The Nation