MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, who is to be named deputy premier and finance minister in the Surayud government, said yesterday that the interim administration would probably implement only one of the 10 proposed rail mass-transit lines during its one-year tenure.

Speaking after a seminar entitled "Thailand's Investment Atmosphere in 2007", he said the government would probably pick the 27-kilometre circular Blue Line, running from Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong and Bang Khae, because it was the most important.

The investment cost is estimated to be around Bt60 billion, with 22km of the line being an elevated rail system and the remaining 5km underground. Pridiyathorn said the rest of the proposed mass-transit lines could be implemented when the government had more resources.

Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra earlier announced his Thai Rak Thai Party would invest in a total of 10 lines worth in excess of Bt500 billion to relieve traffic congestion in Bangkok. Besides the finance portfolio, Pridiyathorn, the outgoing governor of the Bank of Thailand, is also expected to oversee the Transport Ministry, which is responsible for implementing mass-transit schemes.

Pridiyathorn said the Surayud government would also implement the water-resource management project initiated by the previous government so as to increase the competitiveness of the Thai agricultural sector.

Kosit Panpiemras, executive chairman of Bangkok Bank, will be named deputy premier overseeing the agriculture and industry ministries, according to sources close to the prime minister.

Meanwhile, Pridiyathorn, who has been the central bank's chief for the last four years, said the new government would do its best to restore investor confidence.

The government will be more transparent, he said, and would eliminate anything deemed to be a double standard.

He was confident there

would be greater integrity be-cause the new Cabinet would

not have any big businessmen as members and as a result the government would be unbiased in restructuring the economy and in facilitating private-sector business.

Businessmen should be happier because they will not have to be pro-government in order to be successful, as in the past five or six years, he said.

Politically, he said, the check-and-balance mechanisms and independent organisations will be able to function better under the new government, so there will be greater fairness in society. "When there are no more double standards in our society, conflicts, polarisation and discomfort will disappear," he said.

According to Pridiyathorn, the country will be heading towards a better future next year because a new constitution will be drafted and there will be a general election.

Quoting academic Seksan Prasertkul's definition of a functioning democracy, he said there must be three major elements: free and fair elections, freedom to express opinion, and public participation in politics. He said he was not sure if the interim government would allow all the three elements simultaneously or phase them in one by one.

The last general election, he said, was clearly biased because the previous Election Commission took sides.

"As a result, we had only half a democracy. A general election should be free and fair," he said. In addition, he said, freedom of expression had been curtailed for some years, so that for instance many civil servants were afraid that they would be penalised if they spoke out against the ruling politicians.

He said it would be good if the country returned to a fully democratic system soon.

Anoma Srisukkasem

The Nation