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Jailhouse lawyers

The news that Thaksin's lawyers had been ordered behind bars - and details of the court ruling- dominated the headlines of nearly all local newspapers.



In fact, one of the former lawyers of Thaksin who had been convicted was still missing as of press time. The news of Thaksin's lawyers being jailed managed to knock the ongoing debate about Preah Vihear from the headlines. Thai Post ran an editorial urging the court to trace the source of the Bt2 million. "Is it possible that a lawyer would make a big sacrifice which does not relate to the interest of the case?" asked the paper.

Still, the debate on Preah Vihear continued in several papers. Matichon said the debate on the issues shows the beauty of the parliamentary system as at least the House debate has cooled political temperatures by turning attention from the street protests to the House.

Matichon's editorial was titled "Benefits of the House". It said  the debate in the Upper House and Lower House is a part of legislators' duty to check the performance of the administrative branch.

This censure debate occurred at a time when political temperatures were rising largely due to the protest held by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej questioned the legitimacy of PAD by asking who elected the group to power. PAD responded by saying street protests were a part of civil politics. Now that the focus has returned to the House, the government and House MPs have a forum in which they can prove their worth.

Matichon said there are certain benefits from the House debate. The comments raised during the debate should be beneficial to the administration. Therefore, the government should learn how to acknowledge its mistakes.

Nonetheless, Matichon noted voting in the House is a weakness in the system because chances are that MPs from the coalition parties will vote to support the government, regardless of the content of the debate or the public's response.

Matichon said MPs should thus think matters through by considering feelings of the people. After they have listened to the debate, what will they think if the coalition parties' MPs all voted to support the prime minister and the ministers under scrutiny, even though they had failed to answer several charges?

Matichon summed up by saying the political temperature at this point is high largely because of the Preah Vihear controversy. While accusations continue, the politicians should play a vital role in fostering unity in society and solving problems facing the country. Otherwise, the House would be nothing more than a forum for a war of words where the good of the people has no place. Voting, or abstention from voting, thus means a lot in terms of the credibility of the House in the eyes of society.


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