Poor start in drive for police reform

The decision by the police reform committee to seek advice from a person who broke the law and has been alleged to be involved in irregularities in a police station building project seems to be a start that is only going to lead to a dead end. The committee, as one of the 11 military-appointed reform panels, plans to invite Suthep Thaugsuban, the former protest leader of the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), to give his opinions on reforming the Royal Thai Police and decentralising the police force. But the decision has provoked sharp criticism from not only political parties but also academics and political activists.

When he led tens of thousands of his supporters on the streets of Bangkok to bring down the Yingluck Shinawatra government before the 2014 coup, Mr Suthep announced police reform as one of his calls for change.

The police reform committee is dominated by the military and chaired by former supreme commander Gen Boonsrang Niumpradit.

Gen Boonsrang defended his panel’s scheduled meeting with Mr Suthep, saying that it was part of its work to seek advice on how best to reform the police.

The issue of Mr Suthep being consulted has stirred a storm. Mr Suthep himself stands accused by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) of violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code by committing misconduct or dereliction of duty regarding the handling of the construction of 396 police stations worth as much as 6.7 billion baht.

Under the accusations made by the NACC, Mr Suthep had changed the terms of reference for the contract to allow for a single firm to win the contract in 2011, when he was the deputy prime minister under the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. Six years since the contract was signed, these nearly 400 police stations are still to be completed.

The fact that Gen Boonsrang came out to defend his action on television has basically put the last nail in the coffin for the reforms that could have taken place. In his all-out effort to cover up the glitch that had occurred by him asking Mr Suthep for advice, Gen Boonsrang said he would be more than happy to hear from others if they have anything to offer.

Reforms are meant for the betterment of the nation as a whole and all parties should be consulted

But he failed to mention the fact that he was the one who called upon Mr Suthep to seek the latter’s advice, not the other way around. Mr Suthep, like many others before him, openly said that the Royal Thai Police needed reform, but Gen Boonsrang did not pick up the phone or go to see any of those people calling for reform. So why is Mr Suthep given a red-carpet welcome?

Is it because Gen Boonsrang was one of the key people who was instrumental in the 2006 coup that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra? At that time Gen Boonsrang was a deputy supreme commander, and without his approval it would have been difficult to undertake a coup.

It could have been Gen Boonsrang’s past that prompted many parties to come out to paint a negative picture of his reform committee, but it shows what should not be done by this panel whose members are to start their reform process over the course of the next few months.

The 11 reform committees collectively comprise 120 members from the total of 165 required members. The rest will be appointed by the military later on. Each committee is responsible for one of the 11 areas of reform and is comprised of no more than 15 members.

The appointed committee chiefs include veteran political scientist and politician Anek Laothamatas, who will be in charge of political reform, permanent secretary of the interior Grisada Boonrach (public administration), former chief charter drafter Borwornsak Uwanno (law reform), Council of State secretary-general Atchaporn Jarujinda (justice reform) and former Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul (economic reform).

There are more high-profile names in there and they will work separately to administer and draft reform plans. All committee plans will be combined to make a national reform plan. Forming a national reform plan will take about eight months and will be completed by April next year.

There is no doubt that reforms are necessary to make this country move forward, and not many people would oppose such an undertaking. But reform does not mean partiality or favouritism towards one group or the other. Reforms are meant for the betterment of the nation as a whole and all parties should be consulted. Anyone with a chequered past should remain as far away as possible when these reforms are being undertaken, unless they are cleared by the judicial process.

By undertaking moves that are not well thought through, such as this one, the only outcome is that reforms will only be undertaken to be criticised by those who already feel they are disenfranchised.