I resign from AEC because of media : Sawat
Former Asset Examination Committee (AEC) chairman Sawat Chotephanich said Monday he quit the post because of media criticism that he had interpreted the scope and powers of the AEC in such a way as to benefit vested interest groups.
Sawat said the criticism showed that members of the public were not confident in his neutrality or that he would carry out his duties honestly. "To make every one feel at ease, I quit. My children are happy that I did, too,'' he said.He denied leaving because he felt slighted over what was viewed by some as a demotion following last weekend's shakeup of the committee, and insisted he had not had any conflicts with fellow panellist AuditorGeneral Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka. "The media just blew the issues out of proportion,'' he said. Sawat denied attempting to limit the authority of the AEC, which was established by the then Council for Democratic Reform (CDR)'s 23rd announcement, to probe and possibly freeze the assets of allegedly corrupt politicians and their families. The AEC must have evidence before it incriminates anyone, he said. "Several new members of the AEC have expressed opinions along the same lines as mine, [such as] Nam Yimyaem and Kaewsan Atibhodi,'' he said. Reports of conflicts emerged after Sawat insisted the committee would only investigate projects approved by the ousted cabinet, as authorised in the CDR's 23rd announcement. Jaruvan said the committee should be allowed to investigate the sale of Shin Corp shares as well as seize assets. Sawat asked for information relating to all cases completed by the Office of the AuditorGeneral, a request Jaruvan refused. On Saturday, the CDR went into damagecontrol mode after initially failing to give the AEC a clear mandate. It removed six of eight AEC members, sparing only Sawat and Jaruvan. The new 12member committee, which replaced the first AEC established on September 24, was given the power to freeze assets. The new members include Kaewsan, Nam, Klanarong Chantik, Udom Fuangfoong and Sak Korsaengreung. But the CDR failed to rename Sawat - a former president of the Supreme Court - as chairman, stating that members should pick their own chairman. The move was viewed by some as a demotion by the ruling council. The Nation
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