'Make sure lawmakers work for public good'

Privy Councillor Tanin Kraivixien yesterday called on voters to scrutinise lawmakers closely, to ensure they work for the public good and not personal benefit.

He said bias among some members of the legislative branch had led to laws being passed that benefited certain groups of people, which had led to injustices in the legal system.

"This problem still exists today. MPs are blind to the fact they are supposed to represent the entire population and not a particular political party or certain constituencies," said Tanin.

"Worse still, when the Senate was elected, it was dominated by the House of Representatives. Some senators were spouses, children or relatives of MPs."

He was giving a lecture on the lawyers' code of ethics during a training course organised by the Thai Bar Association.

Tanin, once a law lecturer, served as prime minister for a brief period following the October 1976 military coup. He urged voters to keep an eye on lawmakers, in order to ensure that they were not seeking personal gain from their positions.

"In a case of corruption, voters must seek a politician's removal from office in ways stipulated in the Constitution," he said.

As for lawyers' responsibilities, Tanin said they had a duty to protect their clients' rights in the judicial process but not by any means, such as offering bribes in exchange for client acquittal.

Also present at the same event, former premier Chuan Leekpai said lawyers had to resist efforts to "buy" them, although there were many within the justice system who could not be bought.

"For example, there was a failed attempt to bribe the nine Constitution Tribunal judges in the political party-dissolution case. They were offered Bt30 million each," Chuan said.

He said the worst practice during the 76 years of Thai democracy was vote buying and other types of electoral fraud, which politicians used to fight their way to power.

"If such a system were acceptable, we'd be better off holding auctions, and whoever made the best offer won the power to rule, and we'd get more money for the state coffers," said Chuan, a former Democrat Party leader who is now its chief adviser.