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Published on August 28, 2007

Phra Thamma Kitti Maythee, the Council's spokesman, said the bill overlooks the virtues and code of ethics included in all the major religions in Thailand, yet was promoting its own practices and new definitions of ethics.

The monk said the Morality Promotion Bill, proposed by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, would widely effect Buddhism and all other religions, while violating Article 79 of the newly-effective Constitution.

"The government should encourage and support the promotion of all existing religions and their virtues, instead of pushing for this new bill."

Admiral Thongchai Kuasakul, a leader of a network of Buddhists groups, said the bill was an effort to establish a new religion and a new prophet. He also questioned the qualifications of the members of a so-called national assembly to work out the definitions of morality. "Who are these people? What enlightenment have they achieved? Will Buddhist monks, Christian priests and Islamic clerics now have to change the way they observe their religious practices and follow the new code of ethics worked out by these people."

Phra Wisutthi Phatthara Thada, a deputy dean of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, said the government could simply comply with Article 79 by promoting and supporting all existing religions in Thailand - and especially Buddhism.

The Nation