NACC wavers on uni council declarations

The anti-graft agency may opt to postpone the enforcement of a new regulation requiring university council chairpersons and members to declare their assets and liabilities, it said this week.

Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, deputy secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said adjourning the enforcement is a possible option and the agency is gathering input from all concerned parties.

He said there is still some time for the NACC to solve the problem because the new rule will not take effect until Dec 2.

“One possible option is to defer the enforcement but I don’t know how long it will be postponed because the NACC has to conduct a study and figure out the issue,” he said yesterday after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.

Claiming the regulation will trigger burdensome paperwork, some university council members have threatened to quit following the new rule, which will take effect on Dec 2 after being published in the Royal Gazette on Nov 1.

The threat has sparked concern that a mass resignation could affect the running of university affairs, and has prompted the NACC to hold talks with various parties.

The regulation, issued under a new anticorruption law, requires senior officials holding the ranks of department deputy directorsgeneral, university rectors and other officials holding equivalent positions to declare their assets and debts.

Asked if the Supreme Patriarch, who serves as chairman of the Mahamakut Buddhist University council, was covered by the rule, he said this is one of the matters that must be discussed.

Another issue of this anti-corruption law is exactly what rank senior officials must hold who have to declare their assets and liabilities.

He said the anti-graft agency would hold talks on the regulation next month.

Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, acting dean of Walailak University’s School of Political Science and Laws, has suggested that the enforcement be postponed for three to six months to avoid mass resignations and allow universities to find replacements.

He said the NACC may exercise Section 44 to exempt some holders of some positions from having to declare their assets.