TRAT, 18 January 2015 – “The new constitution should make it easier for the public to access the five “Watch Dog Organizations” in order to enhance their participation in Thailand’s system of checks and balances”, several officials related to the constitutional drafting process said.
The consensus was reached at an academic seminar on “The Roles of Watch Dog Organizations in the New Constitution” which was participated by previous and current members of the Office of Ombudsman Thailand, as well as members of the National Legislative Assembly.
Surachai Liengboonlertchai, First Vice-President of the National Legislative Assembly, said that the watch dog organizations should play both active and passive roles. While they are waiting for any complaints to come up, they should take progressive action by studying public complaints made through the media. Working in such a parallel manner, he said the control of malpractice in the government sector would be curbed.
The Office of the Ombudsman Thailand is one of the five watch dogs under the constitution. Prof. Siracha Vongs-arayankura, as an ombudsman, stressed that even though members of the watch dogs are selected with a very high standard of ethics, they should be subjected to impeachment by the new constitution.
Meanwhile, Pichet Sunthornpipit, a former Ombudsman, said that the ombudsman should have more power to prosecute government agencies if they fail to follow the ombudsman’s suggestions within designated timeframe. The new constitution is expected to change the ombudsman from being just a paper tiger to a powerful mechanism with a tight grip on malpractice.
