Commentary
Fairy-tale ending for Thaksin
Kanjana Spindler
Investors
on the Stock Exchange of Thailand scrambled for some quick profits
on Friday. The SET Index soared and everybody was happy. Outside
the Constitutional Court, presumably nationalistic supporters
of Prime Minister Thaksin celebrated with presumably foreign
champagne as a Constitutional Court judge making an early getaway
pre-empted the official announcement of the court's 8-7 verdict
rejecting the National Counter Corruption Commission's indictment
of the prime minister on charges of asset concealment.
The prime minister was happy, although
presumably not surprised, and wanted us all to know that his
11 million supporters were happy too. In fact, the prime minister
was so happy he went a step too far the following day by suggesting
that never again should a popularly elected leader be subjected
to the emotional stress of independent agencies such as the
NCCC and the Constitutional Court.
When he was roundly criticised for attacking
two of the constitution's key independent agencies, Mr Thaksin
blamed the press for reporting what he had intended as "off
the record" remarks and petulantly refused to speak to reporters
for the next few days.
Exactly how reporters are meant to know
what the prime minister wants them to report remains a cloudy
issue although the government spokesman moved quickly to clarify
the issue by changing the rules for engaging the press. The
informal atmosphere that characterises the Government House
press corps is to be replaced by official appointments for interviews-each
of them taped to make sure that what is reported is actually
what was said.
I suppose much of this unfortunate fallout
from Friday's decision-which some people will inevitably refer
to as Black Friday-stems from euphoria and arrogance in equal
parts among those in the Thaksin camp. But both of these sentiments
are badly misplaced.
However the Constitutional Court arrived
at its bizarre decision, the fact remains that the prime minister
squeaked through by the narrowest of margins, and humility,
rather than arrogance, should have been the order of the day.
But while the eight majority votes in the court struggle to
craft a written opinion justifying their rejection of the NCCC
's indictment, the prime minister targets the court and the
NCCC as institutions in need of reform and a reduction in their
powers.
This is not the way Thai people think,
and the prime minister needs to be very careful about challenging
two of the new constitution's most cherished organs. Already
one very disgruntled Democrat, Sanan Kachornprasart, is talking
about seeking Senate impeachment of the court's judges, and
one can be very sure that we have not heard the last of this
particular decision.
Can the Constitutional Court's decision
stand the test of intensive academic, media and parliamentary
scrutiny? It's impossible to say just yet, but at the very least
the prime minister should be immensely sensitive to the fact
that the way in which the court arrived at a decision in his
favour does not reflect positively on his innocence or on the
clarity of judicial thinking exhibited by at least four of the
eight judges who voted in his favour.
It will be easy for the foreign press
and observers to claim that financial might has subverted the
Thai constitution and that in light of the prime minister's
criticism of the court and the NCCC, Thailand's push towards
democratic reform has received a major setback. This will be
a high cost for Mr Thaksin's victory since Thailand's 1997 constitution
and its progressive and rigorous implementation constitute about
our only competitive advantage vis a vis other countries in
the region.
Mr Thaksin's honeymoon with the local
press may also be at risk if he continues to chastise us like
children. After all, there must be a limit to what money can
buy, even in Thailand.
Kanjana Spindler is Assistant Editor,
Editorial Pages, Bangkok Post.
