It's time for Thailand to look for ways to nurture its unique Thai-style of democracy, a former dean of Chulalongkorn University's Political Science Faculty said yesterday.

Amara Pongsapitch, now a key person on the screening committee for the National People's Assembly, said it's time to accept there could be varieties of democracy, depending on different social and historical contexts.

While serving as dean, she led fellow academics at Chulalongkorn University against deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"The coup was not right but if those criticising us [for being a failed democracy and accepting the coup] are Singapore or Malaysia, then we must retort by asking 'How democratic are they really?'," Amara said.

"I look at Asian countries and nowhere do I see it being the Western type of democracy. So we need to write a new text on Asian democracies," she said, adding that in whatever new form governance takes, leaders should pay attention to public benefits and justice.

Amara was speaking at a Thammasat University symposium on Democratic Culture and Unity organised by the university's Women and Youth Studies Programme.

She suggested that instead of conventional Western-style elected representation, perhaps political representatives should be chosen from different sectors.

Thammasat University historian Chaiwat Boonnag shared similar views, saying instead of relying on corrupt and abusive members of constituency-based elected politicians, a new form of parliament, in which different sectors - including the monarchy - elected or appointed their representatives, would be better for Thailand.

"The [western] representative rule is a very scarce thing. This kind of democracy is a death structure for Thailand," said Chaiwat. "Villagers think democracy is equivalent to elections … but it has always been [operating] under a patronage system."

What Thailand needs, Chaiwat said, was "democracy that is rooted on 'Asian-ness' and then encompass 'Thai-ness'.

"We must explore the issue," he said, "because province-based representatives only produce godfathers who lack a human conscience."

Human rights campaigner Angkhana Neelapaichit steered away from Asian values but stressed the need for families and adults to educate one another about human rights and citizen's responsibility.

"People call for [political] unity. But is this unity the kind that demands that we have to shut our mouth and stop talking?"

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation