Between power and wilderness

Mr. Thaksin Shinwatra's pre-poll indictment before the Constitutional Court on charges of misdeclaring his assets could prove a big hurdle, says Amit Baruah.

WHEN MR. Thaksin Shinwatra won the January 6 general elections in Thailand, the Prime Minister-designate was aware that he had another, bigger hurdle to cross - a corruption indictment.

Usually, for politicians, elections are the insurmountable barrier between power and wilderness; but in Mr. Thaksin's case his pre-poll indictment before the Constitutional Court on charges of misdeclaring his assets could prove to be a much bigger hurdle.

A telecom tycoon, said to be wealthiest man in Thailand, Mr. Thaksin's indictment is a litmus test for the country's new anti- corruption mechanisms.

His Thai Ra Thai (Thais Love Thais) party swept the polls on its own - a definite feat in the country's coalition- dominated politics.

Along with the inevitability of the trial in the Constitutional Court, Mr. Thaksin also faces the rising expectations of the Thai people - promised many goodies in a country where poverty levels are rising.

Apart from his other schemes, Mr. Thaksin had promised 1 million baht for every village - a populist enterprise certain to be frowned upon by the world's economic manager-cum-pundits, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

As the Prime Minister moves to implement some of his promises, he has already indicated that the country's economy was a shambles; a point that has been contested by the erstwhile ruling Democrats.

In a recent speech dubbed ``Truth about Thailand'', Mr. Thaksin revealed that the country's national debt had hit 2.8 trillion baht (about $64 billions) or 58 per cent of GDP, with foreign exchange reserves plunging from 400 billion baht to 13 billion baht.

Referring to poverty levels, the Prime Minister said the country had 10 million poor people as opposed to 7.5 million before the 1997 economic crisis. He also pointed to the poor state of the manufacturing industry.

``We have to think together to solve our problems. We must not create new ones. If we work together, I don't think there is anything which cannot be overcome,'' he was quoted as saying.

As a votary of the alliance between business and politics, Mr. Thaksin has been by and large well received, but the corruption charges had placed a big question mark over his continuance in office even before the people went to the polls.

That the Thai people voted for the man and his party despite the indictment by the National Counter-Corruption Commission (NCCC) could turn into a complicating factor.

For Mr. Thaksin, the mandate should not be seen as a recourse to disrespect for the Constitutional Court. While an acquittal is possible, there is also a strong possibility that the Prime Minister could be disqualified from holding public office for five years.

Earlier in the week, the trial in the Constitutional Court commenced. Leading the charge against the Prime Minister, Mr. Klanarong Chanthick, NCCC secretary-general, told the Court that Mr. Thaksin had acted ``dishonestly and untransparently'' in the transfer of shares.

Mr. Thaksin is charged with concealing his income in an official statement when Minister in a previous Government. Shares worth millions of baht were said to have been circulated among his staff and did not show up in the income statement submitted by Mr. Thaksin.

Mr. Klanarong argued that Mr. Thaksin transferred a large number of his and his wife's shares ``back and forth among his maids, his babysitters, drivers and security guards''. None of these individuals attended a shareholders' meeting or received any income from the ``holding'' of these shares, the prosecution submitted.

According to the NCCC official, one particular share transfer took place to a member of Mr. Thaksin's household three years after the person had died.

Mr. Klanarong said Mr. Thaksin's claim that he was not aware of the transfers was ``unbelievable''. He claimed that the Prime Minister made such share transfers before he came into politics in 1992 and continued to do so until 1998, when he ceased to be a Minister.

The NCCC is also of the view that some share transfers violated disclosure laws and that both Mr. Thaksin and his wife avoided paying taxes through the use of nominees.

In response, a lawyer for the Prime Minister, Mr. Suthee Damnuadee, stated that the NCCC had a hidden agenda and acted hastily in preparing the indictment against Mr. Thaksin.

Rather than responding to specific points made by the prosecution, Mr. Thaksin's lawyer essentially argued that the NCCC was biased and favoured the Opposition Democrats.

Mr. Suthee displayed a newspaper report claiming that some members of the NCCC had close personal relationships with some Democratic Party members.

``With many of the (NCCC) commissioners close to the Democrats, this has resulted in questions being raised over its impartiality and discriminatory procedures against the defendant,'' Mr. Suthee argued.

However, Mr. Klanarong responded by saying that the NCCC had shown its political neutrality by indicting General Sanan Kachornprasart, former Interior Minister and a leading light of the Democrat Party, forcing him to take retirement from politics.

``Don't introduce politics into this Court,'' Mr. Klanarong told Mr. Suthee.

Commenting on his lawyers' performance, Mr. Thaksin conceded that they had put up a lacklustre defence. However, the Prime Minister said that he had no intention of sacking his legal team in this high-stake case.

``My lawyers will have to find a new strategy, that's all,'' the Prime Minister told reporters in Bangkok on Thursday.

According to Mr. Thaksin, he would not let himself be distracted by the Court case despite the disappointing performance by his legal team.

``I will devote myself to the work of the country. I don't worry about the future,'' the Prime Minister said.

An editorial in the Bangkok daily, The Nation, said that the legal battle, which could last up to a year, was diverting attention from some of the pressing issues in the country.

``The economic woes and the courtroom drama will be around for quite some time. It will be hard for the country if Thaksin loses the battle on either of these fronts,'' the paper said.

Mr. Thaksin has been welcomed by the people as Prime Minister; with many Thais reposing their faith in him. However, the Prime Minister is aware that his fate is in the hands of the judges of the Constitutional Court and not the electorate.

Despite his popularity, Mr. Thaksin should be aware that the only way to strengthen democratic institutions is to respect the rule of law.

The temptation of harking back to the people's mandate is, of course, a strong one, but is best resisted in democratic environments.

While an acquittal would spare Thailand and Mr. Thaksin the need to find a new Head of Government, the Prime Minister would do well to think in terms of looking around for a possible successor in the months to come.

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