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Published on February 6, 2008

Former prime minister Anand Panyara-chun yesterday offered advice and a warning to the political leadership: an abusive majority can lead to ruin - and for democracy to thrive, politicians are bound by duty to serve justly.

"In the words of the late Phra Buddhadasa, democracy is the rule by majority. But the country will not survive if the majority turns rogue," he said.

Anand was addressing a seminar on the December 23 election organised by the National Legislative Assembly. He said many people mistake democratic rule for symbolic bodies like elections, elected governments, constitutions and legislature. The essence of democracy is justice.

Thailand has seen no less than 30 general elections in 76 years, but many believe democracy has been far from fully-fledged as certain elected governments turned out to be the least democratic, he said.

This was not unusual because it took time to transplant democracy anywhere in the world.

The former PM called for all sides to embrace a political system with just principles instead of succumbing to the illusion that basic law can bring lasting democracy.

"Regardless of how flawless the constitution might be, enforcers of charter provisions could still find loopholes if they are bent on cheating and plundering the country for selfish gains," he said.

Although elections are a mechanism to indicate which party the people wanted to entrust with their mandate, the legitimacy of a government will remain in doubt if the electoral process is not transparent.

In a strong democracy, issues should be resolved by existing mechanisms and not by rewriting the charter or seizing power.

Anand said civil society must become stronger to check the abuse of power. Many rogue leaders often use their elected office as a shield to amass ill-gotten wealth and power.

The role of civic groups is important because independent organisations and checking mechanisms are likely to become complacent over time, he said.

The Nation