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Published on August 17, 2007

At a seminar yesterday, Phairoj Pholphet, secretary-general of the Union for Civil Liberties, said the government must provide clear answers before implementing the law, otherwise it would lack purpose. It should also specify which state enterprises can be privatised and which cannot, so there was no need for interpretation and later governments could set priorities on which should be privatised first.

"There are several committees to oversee the privatisation process. But only one, in charge of 'corporatisation', contains representatives from state enterprises.

"Moreover, public hearings are scheduled after the completion of impact studies. The government should not rush the implementation of this law, otherwise it could induce conflicts later," he said.

Sairoong Thongplon, from the Federation of Consumer Organisations, feared possible conflicts of interest as the law did not have penalties for any panel members who later emerge as shareholders of privatised state enterprises.

Rasana Tositrakul, of the Thai Holistic Health Foundation, said several parts of the law also contained amnesty provisions over the privatisation of PTT.

"This law will legitimise the privatisation of PTT," she said.

Another point of concern was a "missing clause" on the transfer of state authority to privatised enterprises.

"The law should be amended. It should lay down the foundation for reforms," she said.