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Published on August 17, 2007

The charter addressed, among other things, local concerns over decisions to enter into free-trade agreements. This was despite the fact some businessmen said the main ideas in the draft were quite diverse, as many had taken part in the drafting.

Kasikornbank president Prasarn Trairatvorakul said he would vote to accept the draft referendum on Sunday, because "it is important for the country.

"I will vote "yes" because I think its content overall is useful. Once the referendum is passed, it will lead to the general election, which will re-build public confidence and eventually benefit the country's economy," Prasarn said.

His comment comes just two days before the country votes on whether to accept the new constitution in place of one written in 1997.

Federation of Thai Indus-tries chairman Santi Vilassak-danont said most businessmen he had talked to supported the new constitution because "this one has clarified certain issues, which are of the concern to the business sector."

For instance, Articles 83 and 84 said the government should not compete with the private sector unless it was necessary to ensure fair competition.

He attributed the positive feedback to the fact businessmen had taken part in the drafting.

Santi said while the content of the constitution was quite broad, he had learned that the issues would be clearly spelt out by organic laws.

Deja Tulananda, senior executive vice-president at Bangkok Bank, said he was worried by some points in the new charter - but didn't elaborate. "Several authors" had taken part in the drafting so he feared "there may not be unity in the drafting process".

Deja said he had yet to study the draft thoroughly, but would go to vote in the referendum on Sunday. He refused to say if he would vote Yes or No.

Thai National Shippers' Council president Suchart Chantaranakaracha said he fully supported the new charter because it would lead to the formation of an elected government, which should receive support from the international community. Thailand had not had any elections for awhile, and the new government should have the mandate to pursue economic policies if the new constitution was passed.

Asked if he had any concerns about the draft, he said several parts came from the old 1977 Constitution - although some had been changed. For instance, the new constitution required the government to pursue a sufficiency economy. Suchart said the business sector was not worried about the sufficiency economy because the principle would create immunity for business sector.

"I think everyone understands that 'sufficiency economy' does not mean we have to limit production. Instead, the concept will lead to sustainable growth," he said.

And the new charter would require the government to seek House approval before entering into bilateral trade deals, which would be beneficial.

"The previous government superseded the House and failed to explain to society the benefits of the free-trade agreements (FTAs). This caused problems for the government later."

Apichart Nanthaterm, executive director of Aeon Thana Sinsap (Thailand), said he would vote in the referendum and had an answer in his mind.

"In my opinion, both the 1997 Constitution and the 2007 draft are not significantly different. Each has good parts. Both copies won't change the direction of the country drastically," he said.

However, he believed the people had different opinions about the new draft, making it difficult to forecast the result on the referendum.

Buntoon Wongseelachote, chairman of the monitoring committee on trade rules at the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said he supported a clause in the new charter that required the government to seek parliamentary approval before entering into FTA deals. In the past, the government just asked for comments from the private sector.

"The required process may be longer than in the past but it will be beneficial for the country in the long term if we go through the appropriate process before inking FTAs," he said.

Kaida Srifuengfung, executive vice president of Siam Commercial New York Life, said: "As far as I know, the draft of the new constitution is more focused on the public's individual rights.

"At first I thought I would just accept it, and if something is not right, it can be fixed later. However, after listening to political experts, some things may be too difficult to be fixed. Nothing is perfect. I'll keep watching the constitution discussions to absorb as much information as possible. So far as I know, there's nothing much that will effect the business sector."

Some businessmen also said they would vote for the new Constitution, even though they didn't agree with every point in the draft - they reasoned that a 'Yes' vote would help clear the gloomy political situation.

Noble Development Plc's managing director, Thongchai Busrapan, said he would vote 'Yes' because after reading the draft, he thought it would enable people to investigate politicians and also receive more welfare benefits from the state. "Although I disagree with some articles in the draft, people will be able to make proposals to change the draft, which will be easier to change than the 1997 Constitution," he said.

Atip Bichanond, president of Thai Condominium Assoc-iation, said he would vote to accept the draft because the country must move on to an election - and normality.

"I don't know what options are available to the government and National Security Council if the draft constitution is voted down. But I fear that it would have a negative impact on the Thai economy, which already has low growth, as nobody knows when the new election will be held," he said.

Business reporters

The Nation