His Majesty the King's chief adviser yesterday stressed honesty and integrity were vital qualities for a good leader and those who earned their wealth dishonestly did not deserve respect.

Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda called on the armed services to lead the way in upholding moral and ethical principles. He said the absence of these would allow corruption and favouritism to thrive.

"Without morals and ethics, everything is doomed to collapse through graft violations and the dispensing of favours to relatives and cronies," he said before 500 midshipmen at the Naval Academy.

A good leader is just, and no one should confuse ill-gotten wealth with a sign of success and respectability, he added.

This was his second appearance before a military audience in two weeks.

In an address at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy on July 14, he rallied the military behind the nation and the monarchy. As a result, the former prime minister drew criticism from some government figures when he compared ruling politicians to jockeys and soldiers to horses. He said horses had to follow their real owners, which he said was the King and the country.

Yesterday, he repeated that. "As I told Chulachomklao cadets, soldiers belong to the nation and His Majesty the King, while a government is a supervisor of the armed forces ensuring policy implementation," he said.

He told the sailors to realise the integrity of their uniform and live up to people's expectations, as well as safeguarding King and country with their lives.

"Soldiers are bound together by uniform and spirit to carry out a sacred duty for the country," he said.

He urged military leaders to study the three underlying principles behind His Majesty's "sufficiency economy" theory. They were applicable to many things.

"His Majesty's advice spells out three principles to be considered before any task: careful assessment of capability, logical cause and effect of action and risk analysis to cushion unforeseen consequences," he said.

He said leaders should consider these principles before taking action.