Dr Thirapat Serirangsan, a political-science lecturer at Sukothai Thammathirat Open University, was about to submit his latest book on Thai politicians' ethics for a full professorship last month when he was unexpectedly approached by General Surayud Chulanont to be a Cabinet member.

"I was hoping the work would be approved as fulfilling the academic requirements for me to become a full professor after working for the university for over two decades. My plans were overturned in the wake of the September 19 coup d'etat when I was named one of the 26 ministers," says Thirapat, who is currently an associate professor and PM's Office Minister.

His book, "Thai Politicians: Ethics, Conflict of Interests and Corruption" came off the press at a time when morality in the political arena had become a major issue. It attempts to shed light on probable causes, impacts and solutions.

Thirapat also conducted interviews with nearly 30 top thinkers on the subject, including Privy Counsellor Kasem Wattanachai, former senator Kaewsan Atibhodi, Auditor-General Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka, former premier Thanin Kraivixien, former Constitutional Court judge Suchit Boonbongkan and former senator Chirmsak Pinthong.

In his conclusion, Thirapat suggests that Thailand should come up with a conflict-of-interest law to fight rampant abuse of power by public officials.

In his opinion, the existing rules and regulations are insufficient to deal with cases of conflict of interest, as there are only a few articles in the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) law that deal with it.

Thirapat also advocates the use of trusts by holders of public office and their spouses, who are barred from holding more than 5 per cent in listed companies while in office.

"We have this requirement under Article 209 of the NCCC law, but unfortunately none of the politicians in the previous government, including former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, complied with it. By law, shareholdings that exceed the 5 per cent threshold are supposed to be transferred to a professional trust for independent management. This separates the interests of public office from personal or private interests."

"However, our politicians just ignored the law and instead transferred assets which exceeded the 5-per-cent threshold to relatives or their children. They were probably afraid that all their assets would be locked up if they obeyed the law and used the trusts," says Thirapat, who will shortly submit a bill on conflicts of interest for the Cabinet's consideration. If endorsed, it will be forwarded to the National Legislative Assembly to be enacted into law.

Besides the proposed law, Thirapat, who earned his PhD in political science from Chulalongkorn University, says he will focus on democratic and mass-media reforms during his tenure. Regarded as one of Prime Minister Surayud's trusted academics, Thirapat is confident that the premier is fully behind the fight against conflicts of interest in the political arena and the efforts to reform Thai democracy. On democratic reform, he says it is necessary for all sectors of society to be involved in the drafting of the new constitution and that there should also be a long-term mechanism to educate the public politically.

"I advocate the setting-up of what could be called an independent national political-development council, so that we can have a more holistic approach to educating people, especially the grass-roots population, about our democratic political system. The state, civil sector, private sector, non-government organisations etc should all be involved. I hope we can come up with a master plan in the next three months," Thirapat says.

"In fact, political education, both formal and non-formal, is not new in Thailand. It started during the reign of King Rama V. Then we got the first political-development plan during the reign of King Rama VII. In my opinion, democracy is not just about elections. It has much more substance. It's a way of life or a political culture in which education - formal and non-formal - has the leading role. In this context families and schools are among the key players, especially for grass-roots people," he says.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com