The much-anticipated guest speaker didn’t turn up, but an unprecedented panel discussion on the highly delicate subject of Royal powers went ahead at Thammasat University yesterday with strong public interest and enthusiasm.

Against a backdrop of Royal silence that raised questions about the way the government, Constitution Court and Senate attempted to remove Auditor-General Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka, Privy Councillor and former supreme commander Surayud Chulanont decided virtually at the last minute to cancel his keynote speech at the forum. He also postponed a talk due to be given at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand tonight.

Hundreds of people crowded the Thammasat venue, spilling out of the meeting room. Most were disappointed with Surayud’s no-show but the event still generated enough political heat in the face of the Jaruvan impasse and uncertainties surrounding this year’s high-level military-reshuffle list, which has not received approval from the Royal Palace.

The Jaruvan issue was the focus of attention, with one panellist suggesting a solution could be reached by disregarding the Constitution Court’s verdict last year that her nomination was illegal.

Senator Kaewsan Atibhodi said the Constitution Court did not have the power to make such a ruling in the first place, hence the verdict should be nullified and the issue should be returned to the Senate.

“The root cause of the impasse is the ruling of the Constitution Court,” he said. “The court exercised power beyond what was assigned to it by the Constitution. It should not have accepted the case from Uthai [Pimchaichon, former Parliament president] in the first place. The court did not rule that Khunying Jaruvan has to step down because it knew it did not have to power to do so.”

Yesterday’s forum – packed with some 1,500 curious observers –

was organised by Thammasat University’s Sanya Thammasak Institute of Democracy.

Thammasat rector Suraphol Nitikraipot told the audience that Surayud accepted an invitation to speak but later received advice to cancel his talk because “to make a speech now on the issue in his capacity could have an impact on a lot of people”.

Kaewsan, a former member of the committee that drafted the Constitution, said His Majesty the King had both constitutional and customary power. He cited Article Seven of the Constitution, which states that “whenever no provision under this Constitution is applicable to any case, it shall be decided in accordance with the constitutional practice in the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of the State”.

“Whatever [the King] considers [something as being] not beneficial to the people and being unjust, His Majesty has a veto power,” he said. “In Khunying Jaruvan’s case, the King has the full power to right the wrong. The King exercises power on behalf of the people. And his power is a just one.”

The senator said he agreed with Pramuan Ruchanaseree, author of the “Royal Power”, that the King was not a “rubber stamp” to legitimise the power of politicians.

Pramuan’s book has stirred widespread debate in Thai society about the status of the constitutional monarchy. He told the audience at Thammasat yesterday that his purpose for writing the book was to gauge public confidence in the Royal institution.

“This book is asking Thai people if we still believe in the monarchy, and if so, do we want to pay our utmost respect to his [His Majesty’s] power, or would we allow it to decline overtime? If so, we would no longer have the King to solve the country’s crises.”

Pramuan said Thais had to choose between having Thailand managed as a Kingdom or a corporation. And while a Kingdom makes the holistic wellbeing and happiness of the people as its priority, a corporation just focuses on economic growth.

“A Kingdom is about wholeness,” Pramuan said. “We have to care about His Majesty’s feelings if we have to lose some part of our Kingdom. King Rama V had to go through a great pain when Thailand had to lose parts of its territory to the colonial power. Now, some Thais have sought refuge in Malaysia. If we have to lose our land again during the reign of King Rama IX, can we imagine the deep sorrow our ‘Father’ would have to endure.”

Veteran journalist Sondhi Limthongkul said he felt uncomfortable seeing the political machine acting like it was challenging Royal power.

“I think we have to listen more carefully to what could have been crucial signals,” he said. “For example, what does it mean that Khunying Jaruvan received an upgraded Royal decoration the same day she was ruled illegitimate [by the Constitution Court].”