Govt defends monastic land stance
Dept insists it is not favouring Yongyuth
The government’s push to roll out a law to transfer the controversial Pathum Thani monastic land, now the site of the Alpine golf course, to a foundation, is not aimed at favouring the Pheu Thai Party, officials say.
The move is not intended to whitewash former Pheu Thai Party leader Yongyuth Wichaidit, earlier found guilty by the court for his role in enabling the land to transfer to private ownership, according to the Department of Lands (DoL).
The bill, which the department is preparing, is aimed at transferring two parcels of land, one covering 194 rai and the other 730 rai, in Klong Luang district from Wat Dhammamikaramvoraviharn in Prachuap Khiri Khan to the Mahamongkut Ratchawittayalai Foundation.
The land was earlier donated by the late Noem Chamnanchartsakda to Wat Dhammamikaramvoraviharn in 1971. In her will she appointed the Mahamongkut Ratchawittayalai Foundation as executor of the prime real estate. The foundation later sold the land to Alpine Real Estate and Alpine Golf and Sports Club.
The Council of State, the government’s legal advisory body, had found the sale was illegal as the land was a monastic land, and the DoL cancelled the sale. However, Mr Yongyuth, who was then deputy permanent secretary for interior, serving as acting permanent secretary, overruled the order.
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases last week sentenced Yongyuth to two years in prison for abuse of authority as he interpreted the law falsely in overruling the order.
Doubts have been raised about the ownership of the land, which has now been turned into a golf course as well as housing estates. Both parcels of the land were alleged to have been transferred illegitimately and subsequently developed into the golf course and the housing estate.
A complex web of legal queries were raised over the status of the land. Questions were raised whether the land should remain monastic land, which cannot be transferred to private hands, or sold, or if the ownership should be given to the housing estate owners who bought the properties in good faith.
The DoL insisted the law change was needed to settle the problem once and for all.
DoL director-general Prateep Keeratirekha said a law change was needed to find a legal solution to the disputes over the transfer of the monastic land to the foundation and private ownership, in this case the home owners. The title deeds had changed hands many times in the past including to the foundation.
Referring to concerns the law would exonerate Mr Yongyuth from wrongdoing, Mr Prateep said a previous DoL chief revoked the land registration and cancelled land transfer to the foundation on Dec 20, 2001.
A petition was later lodged to revoke the DoL’s cancellation order to made it possible for ownership of the land to be transferrable again. Mr Yongyuth agreed to the cancellation order being rescinded. However, despite Yongyuth’s order at the time, the fact remains the land was and always will be monastic land, Mr Prateep said.
Concern about the possible effect of law which could exonerate the wrongdoers in the land sales was raised by Democrat Party legal expert Wirat Kalayasiri. He said if the law were passed, it might give an amnesty to people involved in the monastic land scandal.
He said that as soon as Noem died, the land must have belonged to the temple. In the wake of the court’s ruling against Mr Yongyuth, measures must be taken to assist those who honestly obtained the properties but now find they might have to give back the land, he said. One way out could be that the homeowners rent the land from the templem he said.
But if the law is drafted to allow the land transfer from the temple to the foundation, it might mean those who conspired to twist the law to get their hands on the monastic land stand to be exonerated, he said. Accordingly, Yongyuth would not have to bear any legal responsibility as the legislation would benefit him retroactively.
“If the government accepts this, it means the administration is party to the attempt to take away the monastic land,” said Mr Wirat. “This is tantamount to giving a blanket amnesty.”
Buyers of the Alpine land and homeowners of the adjacent housing project would benefit from the law, he said. “But if this is the case, public trust in the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will be eroded. What the NCPO must do is to stick to Noem’s wish that Wat Dhammamikaramvoraviharn assume ownership of the land while also taking care of the honest buyers.”
Mr Wirat said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda must come out to stop the law.
Thanakrit Vorathanatchakul, prosecutor at the Office of the Attorney-General, said the Interior Ministry proposed the law to alleviate the plight of people who later occupied the monastic land.