Thread: Senate panel wants checks on lawmakers

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...s-on-lawmakers

Senate panel wants checks on lawmakers

• Published: 4/02/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The senate committee on corruption and good governance is recommending that profiles of lawmakers, including their voting records, be prepared as a way to detect graft.

Committee chair Rosana Tositrakul said figures prepared by the international body, Transparency International, placed the corruption perception index for Thailand for 1995 to the present at between 2.7 and 3.8 out of a possible 10. This was very low.

Some business people have estimated the economic damage caused by corruption at over 200 billion baht a year.

Ms Rosana said yesterday it had been found that corruption accounted for about 70% of the total investment in certain state projects.

The solution is to bring together people to form a strong civil society to push for greater transparency and help combat graft, the Bangkok senator said.

She suggested recording profiles and statistics on each MP or senator. These profiles would provide details of their meeting attendance, how they voted on different issues and their debating record. The profiles should be open to the public.

There also must be measures to prevent the statutes of limitations in graft cases from expiring, the senator said.

Independent agencies such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission tasked with investigating corruption also should reveal details of their inquiries for the sake of transparency.

Ms Rosana said her committee had looked into graft in the energy sector and was recommending that the government stop subsidising energy firms.

Kamnoon Sidhisamarn, an appointed senator who chairs the subcommittee on screening corruption complaints, said his panel had accepted 189 of the 279 complaints it had received over the past three years for examination.

The complaints are categorised into six groups including procurement projects, non-transparent budget spending, unfair law enforcement, and abuse of authority by government officers.

Mr Kamnoon said it was unfortunate that his subcommittee's inquiries into the complaints would not produce any tangible results as the government had taken no concrete action against graft.