Seriphisut, who has a chequered career behind him, is an intriguing choice to head the national police force at this critical time. The controversial police general is known for his blunt style, which makes him the odd man out among fellow officers of his generation. However, Seriphisut is no stranger to the game of political patronage. He is known for his past associations with powerful politicians, including Thaksin, former Democrat secretary-general Sanan Kachornprasart and the late prime minister, Chatichai Choonhavan.

The appointment of Seriphisut as acting national police chief, which makes the job sound temporary, by Prime Minister Surayud can be seen as an attempt to ensure that he will respond more positively to the wishes of the interim government and the military council than his predecessor. Judging from past performance, Seriphisut is expected to serve the Surayud government with his usual gusto, but the new police chief must make it clear that ultimately the public is his real master.

Seriphisut's priorities include solving the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok that killed three and injured scores of others, last month's grenade attacks on the Daily News offices, and the torching of more than 40 schools in northern and northeastern provinces since Thaksin's government was overthrown in September. Seriphisut's predecessor consistently failed to deliver results in any of these investigations.

Kowit's failure to make progress in the investigations into those high-profile acts of terrorism and sabotage has put the Surayud government and the Council for National Security in an awkward position because it makes them look like they are not in full control of the still volatile political situation. Speculation by government leaders and members of the military council that those incidents were the handiwork of Thaksin loyalists in the military and police rank and file have put Kowit's lacklustre performance under an intense spotlight.

Some have even suggested that the lack of progress in police investigations was the result of deliberate non-cooperation by the Royal Thai Police with the military junta. Seriphisut will have to prove beyond any doubt that he is fully capable of providing effective leadership to make sure that police investigators do their utmost to successfully conclude the probes into these serious crimes and to bring all perpetrators to justice. Such mysterious crimes, if left unresolved, will not only make the government look bad, but will also cast serious doubts on Thailand's future as a self-sustaining democracy.

Seriphisut's other challenges include demanding that police in the strife-torn southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat perform their duty to maintain law and order and cooperate more with the military in protecting the civilian population against harassment by ruthless Islamic militants/Malay separatists. Almost 2,000 people have been killed since insurgents launched a new wave of violence in the deep South in early 2004.

During Thaksin's five and a half years in power, corruption and abuse of authority by officers in the national police force had become even more widespread than it already was. The only yardstick to measure Seriphisut's performance is how successful he will be in reducing corruption and cracking down on criminal officers so that a real effort can be made to reform the police force.

The Surayud government and Seriphisut have a very limited amount of time to reshape the Royal Thai Police force into a professional law enforcement agency that can be expected to perform its duties honestly and with a high degree of public accountability. That's why they must prepare to face down any challenge to their reform programme with decisive actions. Any would-be resistance to police reforms by corrupt officers bent on maintaining the status quo must be nipped in the bud.