Finally, an end in sight to the Meechai conundrum

We should know today whether Meechai Ruchupan, an adviser to the National Council for Peace and Order and a veteran constitution writer, will accept the offer — or invitation — of Prime Minister and NCPO leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to chair the new 21-member Constitution Drafting Committee.

Whether Mr Meechai answers yes or no, the CDC list will have to be announced today as mandated by the interim charter, which says the NCPO chief must appoint the CDC within 30 days after the now-defunct National Reform Council rejected the first draft constitution. Also, the list of the 200-member National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) will be announced today.

Mr Meechai will inform the NCPO at a meeting today of his decision.

The legal expert reportedly met Gen Prayut last Friday and was shown the list of 40 nominees for the committee, prepared by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, for the prime minister to peruse.

Both were tight-lipped after the meeting. Some reports suggested Mr Meechai must have had made some suggestions to the prime minister about which among the nominees should be appointed to the CDC.

Some critics who may not be aware of Mr Meechai’s background have suggested he is too old for the job. He was the country’s top legal hand in the drafting of constitutions even before Dr Bowornsak Uwanno became a charter writer.

If Mr Meechai refuses to accept the CDC chairmanship today, I believe the prime minister has already decided on a back-up choice from among the 40 nominees. I have no idea who he or she is — more likely a he. But importantly, the chairman must be someone who is widely recognised, respectable and commands the respect of the team.

The CDC will have six months to come up with a new draft charter which will then go directly to the cabinet for approval before it is tabled for a national referendum. The referendum will take four months under the political roadmap outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.

One convenient way to save time in the drafting of the new charter is to lift the “good” parts from the rejected draft of Dr Borwornsak, who in turn lifted many parts from the 1997 and the 2007 charters.

The controversial provisions about an “outsider” prime minister, a “shadow” government and a complicated election system intended to “bonsai” major political parties which appeared in the rejected draft should be eliminated.

While we are waiting for an answer from Mr Meechai, the Prachatai news website has conducted an opinion poll on social media among its readers about who should be named to the CDC.

It has come up with the following list of noted people: Worachet Pakeerut and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul of the Nitirat group; Likhit Dhiravekin; Sukhum Nualsakul; Ukrit Mongkolnavin; Chaturon Chaisaeng; Thaksin Shinawatra; Ekkachai Chainuwat; Pichit Likhitkitsomboon; Somsak Jeamteerasakul; and Prajak Kongkirati.

I don’t want to comment on the above list but merely want to inform readers that there are different ideas in another corner of our political landscape, which is all about freedom of expression.

Unfortunately, though, we have been overshadowed by Mr Meechai’s role or non-role in the CDC to the extent that little attention has been paid to the list of nominees which is to be made known today.

Hopefully, the NRSA will not be too heavily dominated by active and retired military officers, police and civil servants. Otherwise the reforms which the NCPO has promised to carry out will be just a farce. I can’t image how active and former government officials will be able to bring effect to reforms that will change or degrade the status quo as it concerns them.

Ask police officers whether they want to make the police force smaller so it can become more manageable and less powerful? Ask the top brass whether they want to reduce the size of the armed forces, making each arm more compact and more efficient with fewer desk generals at the top? You know the answers.