"What's the use of having constitutional reform without reforming politicians?" asked Chart Thai Party deputy leader Somsak Prisanananthakul.

"There will always be loopholes and those canny [politicians] will find them and that will lead to more crises," he said.

Somsak, speaking at a symposium organised by the Office of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council, said he did not think there was anything wrong with the charter as it stood.

"It's not broken. [The problem] is the people who use the Constitution and their attempts to distort the charter to serve themselves," he said.

Somsak said allegations of gross interference with various "independent" bodies created under the 1997 Constitution only began when Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai Party came to power five years ago.

Democrat Party deputy leader Jurin Laksanavisit said while he saw the need for constitutional reform, it must accompany a reform of politicians' ethics.

"It's up to all parties to see to it. It's vital for political reform," said Jurin, adding that at no time had the Constitution been distorted to the point where people felt the charter was "dead".

Jurin said checks and balances had to be enhanced by reform, the state-controlled media had to be free to report news in a balanced fashion and interference with independent organisations had to end.

Thai Rak Thai deputy leader Pongthep Thepkanjana, who has been at the receiving end of much criticism when it comes to interference in "independent" bodies, told the seminar that politicians should not be self-serving or corrupt.

"We must reform the conscience of Thais. Youths say they can accept corruption, as long as the administration is done well. We must change this mentality. Let us not respect people with money or power [for that] alone," Pongthep said. Political reforms are crucial, he added, and politicians should have little say in the process.

Suriyasai Katasila, a coordinator of the People's Alliance for Democracy, said constitutional reform alone was not enough. He said much of the debate and process of reform was still dominated by politicians, legal experts and people who drafted the charter.

"We must re-arrange the relationship between the state and citizens," he said, adding people who questioned the authorities often found themselves facing unfair legal action or even assassination, such as in the case of late environmentalist Charoen Wat-aksorn.

The advisory council proposed that a "people's political reform council" be formed to oversee political reform, without politicians having a say.

They said the ethics of politicians should be improved and MPs had to be freed from party discipline.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation