Charges of conflicts of interest and favouri-tism raised by a Senate committee tasked with probing the backgrounds of the NBC nominees had fallen on deaf ears. In the eyes of its critics, the way the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed the nominees despite the many flaws only reinforced the widespread belief the legislative body was just a rubber stamp of the executive branch.

A truly independent NBC will play a crucial role in ending the state monopoly of the airwaves and ensure a level playing field for the industry. It is supposed to be one of the key elements of the democratic reform as envisioned by the drafters of the 1997 Constitution. But the seven nominees chosen by the Senate were far from inspiring. Most were hand-picked to represent business interest groups with links to the political establishment - the latest of the independent bodies to go down the drain at the hands of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's political machine.

Despite repeated claims that reforming the broadcast industry was his priority, Thaksin did practically nothing during his five years in power to assuage fears that the media-reform process was being politically manipulated. But this should not have come as a surprise given his unfriendly attitude towards the media.

The current political deadlock has also stopped another element of media reform in its tracks. The Broadcast Business Bill, which spells out the legal framework for the NBC, was held up in the House of Representatives before it was dissolved.

But the bill as it was held out little hope that media reform would be carried out in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. It was so politically tampered with that one could expect to see only a small dent in the state monopoly of the airwaves even if it was passed into law. And those standing to gain the most would be politically connected media groups.

The bill was essentially designed to ensure that such government agencies as the Public Relations Department (PRD) and the armed forces continue to have a semi-monopoly of the airwaves. It had a provisional clause that would safeguard any deals that the state-owned media outlets reached with private operators. That means contracts doled out by the PRD and other state broadcast monopolies to their private business partners would be outside the domain of the NBC.

The attempts to protect the media empires of the PRD and the Mass Communications Organisation of Thailand (a publicly listed company but essentially still a state enterprise) could not have been made without what critics believe was a political conspiracy. The Thaksin administration had every reason to retain the two media agencies as its mouthpieces and to facilitate the domination of the broadcast industry by media groups sympathetic to its political agenda.

The Administrative Court's suspension of the NBC nomination was definitely a positive step towards bringing media reform back on track. There is a strong likelihood that the court will eventually nullify the NBC selection process altogether on the grounds that it was flawed from the very beginning.

That may add months or even a year to the already long-delayed process. But the further delay could be a blessing in disguise. Hopefully there will be a renewal of the process amid a heightened spirit of political reform, accompanying what many believe to be a pending major political transition.

The court's ruling should also serve as a reminder that another NBC nomination fraught with conflicts of interest or political interference would meet the same fate. Though the newly elected Senate may leave much to be desired as far as its independence is concerned, it can be sure that it decisions will be subject to much closer public scrutiny.

A rewriting of the Constitution, which now seems to be a commitment of all major political parties, should also provide an assurance that independent bodies like the NBC will be less subject to political interference. At least, a House of Representatives that is not dominated by a single party is more likely to be responsive to public sentiments.

After five years of political pessimism, one shouldn't be faulted for looking forward with some optimism for a change.

Thepchai Yong