Thai PM too busy for his own corruption trial
By Peter Janssen
BANGKOK (DPA): Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to skip the opening of what is likely to be a lengthy trial against him at the Constitutional Court which could result in his ban from public office for five years.
The billionaire premier said he will be too busy releasing economic data on the country to attend the trial's first hearings Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thaksin has no doubt deduced that the Thai public is currently more interested in what he can do for them rather than whether he fudged the truth when making a declaration of his wealth -- estimated at US$1.4 billion -- four years ago.
Thailand's National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) last Dec. 26 indicted Thaksin for intentionally attempting to conceal his wealth in 1997 when he was deputy prime minister for a month.
The NCCC found that Thaksin had deliberately tried to hide part of his immense wealth by transferring millions of dollars worth of shares in his 17-company business empire to his servants.
Under Thailand's 1997 tough-on-corruption constitution, all politicians who take cabinet posts must fully reveal their personal wealth before and after taking office.
Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, protested his innocence and vowed to fight the corruption charges at the Constitutional Court.
Nobody expects a swift ruling.
"We still can't say how long the case will take but it will be a while. The NCCC's documents alone are at least 7,000 pages thick, and the court has a backload of other cases to deal with," said Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana.
Thailand's opposition parties, likewise, expect a long wait, with no ruling until at least the end of this year.
The Constitutional Court has in the past proved itself no political pushover. Former interior minister Sanan Kachornprasart, who was secretary of the then-ruling Democrat Party, was indicted last year by the NCCC for falsely declaring his assets, and six months later the ruling was upheld by the court.
Sanan had the political grace to bow out of his powerful job shortly after the NCCC indictment.
Thaksin, however, ignored the NCCC's indictment and went on to contest the general election of Jan. 6, which his Thai Rak Thai party won with a clear majority of seats.
If found guilty by the Constitutional Court, Thaksin will be banned from participating in national politics for five years, a prospect he may welcome in a year from now.
At this stage even the opposition would not like to see a swift ruling by the Constitutional Court against Thaksin.
"It would certainly be an awkward situation," admitted Abhisit Vejjajiva, a senior Democrat. "But for us, we thought the correct thing for him to do was not put the country at risk. He decided not to take that option so now the ball is in the Constitutional Court."
As prime minister, Thaksin faces a daunting task in coming months.
His Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party won the election on a host of populist policies that must now be delivered on.
Thaksin promised to provide each of Thailand's 70,000 villages with a development fund of one million baht ($22,727) each, to grant a three-year moratorium on farmers' debts nationwide and to provide medical treatments at public hospitals at 30 baht (68 cents) a visit.
Some of these policies have already been watered down.
For instance, the farmers' debt moratorium will only apply to debts less than 100,000 baht ($2,272) and the hospital treatment will initially only apply to six provinces, starting on April 1.
The health program, significantly, is being piloted in six provinces that were already under the social sector adjustment loan from the World Bank.
Thaksin's generous policies come at a time when Thailand, which has barely recovered from its worst recession in decades in 1998, can hardly afford to be generous.
In the wake of projected economic slowdowns in the United States and Japan, recently the government revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates downwards to 3.5 percent for 2001, and admitted that a budget deficit was anticipated.
Thaksin, however, is under political pressure to show that he is delivering on his campaign pledges in the next few months.
"People seem willing to give him a chance to implement what he has promised, but after a few months if there is no indication that they are moving in the right direction they will begin to wonder if Thaksin is just all style, with no substance," said political scientist Chaiwat Khamchoo.
He added, "I think even the Constitutional Court will also consider the public mood in setting the pace on their decision."