The interim Surayud Chula-nont government could not lead the country in the medium term, but it could lay the groundwork for future sustainable development, president Chalongphob Sussang-karn said yesterday.

"The government should introduce new laws in order to improve economic management and investment and to lessen risks of corruption," he said at the end of the two-day seminar attended by hundreds of economists, social scientists and leaders of communities discussing economic reforms after the financial crisis of 1997.

Widespread corruption before and after the 1997 crisis had posed a risk to future development, they said.

Chalongphob said mega-projects worth several trillions of baht had been prone to corruption since they were often implemented by past governments without transparency. The current government should introduce new laws to assure productive investment, he suggested.

An early-warning system for fiscal policy should also be established to guard against politicians who might run populist policies at the expense of fiscal discipline.

The government should also make a clear plan about trade liberalisation with proper sequencing.

"The new government may abolish these laws but if the public believes these laws would effectively prevent corruption, public pressure will force the next government to adhere to them," added Chalongphob.

Somkiat Tangkitvanich, re-search director at TDRI, suggested the government should amend laws in order to severely punish corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.

Government agencies should disclose more information, making corruption more difficult. In the past, information about investment incentives given by the Board of Investment that indicated a benefit going to a business with close links to the government had been removed from its website, he said.

Freedom of the press must be guaranteed by law and public media should be modelled on the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The people should also create a network to gather information and monitor politicians who have an interest in government projects. They should also launch a campaign against monopolies which are against the public interest.

A new law should be introduced to regulate the natural monopoly of some businesses.

It should be made easier for a groups of people to file legal actions against corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, Somkiat suggested.

Wichit Chaitrong

The Nation

Chon Buri