EDITORIAL :

Cabinet members must cooperate.

Four months after the generals overthrew the Thaksin regime, which stands accused of rampant corruption and other offences, the people have yet to see a single graft case being filed against the former prime minister and his cohorts. Thaksin Shinawatra has denied all the corruption charges and has challenged the government to come up with the ''receipts'' to prove his alleged wrongdoings. The snail's pace, if not complete lack, of progress regarding these cases has left the public as much disappointed and frustrated as the Assets Scrutiny Committee which has been tasked by the Council for National Security to investigate the alleged corruption. There seems to be a lack of enthusiasm on the part of cabinet members whose ministries or related agencies are affected by alleged corruption committed by their predecessors. With their civil service background, the ministers are used to the bureaucratic culture, tend to be over-cautious and are reluctant to take bold decisions, especially those concerning Mr Thaksin, his family and his former ministers.

ASC chairman Nam Yim-yaem's frustration is understandable. He has had to resort to threats of legal action to convince such agencies as the Financial Institutions Development Fund, the Airports Authority of Thailand and the Rubber Re-planting Aid Fund (RRAF) to lodge formal complaints with his committee against the alleged culprits of the overthrown regime. Even so, the cooperation being offered is half-hearted _ which should not be the case were there a genuine desire to clean up the corruption mess and to bring the culprits to justice.

The FIDF, which is under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand, is reluctant to specify the cost of damage rendered to the fund by its Ratchadapisek land deal with Mr Thaksin's wife, Khunying Potjaman, as it insists there was no loss because the purchase price was above the appraised price. But thanks to Article 100 of the anti-graft law, which forbids a state authority or his spouse from entering into a business contract with a state agency, even without the cost of damage, the ASC can still pursue the case against the former prime minister.

But the RRAF's initial response to the ASC's probe into the questionable acquisition of 90 million rubber saplings under the supervision of then deputy agriculture minister Newin Chidchob is even more disappointing.

Its request to the Office of the Attorney-General to rule whether the rubber fund was the legal damaged party _ a request the OAG rejected _ is clearly over-cautious and lacking in the courage needed to right the wrongs committed. It should have been unquestionable that extensive damage had been done to the RRAF by the massive corruption related to the project under its supervision.

The legal question of whether it is the damaged party or not should be left with the court of law to decide. What the RRAF should be worried about is safeguarding its interests, and that means filing a formal complaint with the ASC so legal proceedings can continue. It is encouraging that the RRAF has finally done so.

The apparent unwillingness or lack of enthusiasm on the part of ministers and their officials to go after Mr Thaksin and his cohorts on graft charges poses a real problem for the ASC and for the Office of the Attorney-General in the future, when cases are to be lodged with the court, as some of these officials may be required to testify in court.

Four months have passed without satisfactory progress in the corruption probes. It is time for Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to send a strong message to his cabinet members and officials, of his government's unwavering resolve to clean up the corruption mess and to bring the culprits to justice, and that they must cooperate fully with the ASC and the OAG.

Lack of cooperation, either on the part of the ministers or their officials, cannot be tolerated. If necessary, heads must roll _ to set an example that cooperation cannot be refused.

General News
Bangkok Post
Thursday January 25, 2007