Ethics violation ......... .. .. and ouster of Head of Government - in Thailand

Can an Ethics violation lead to the ouster of the head of a Govt – is that possible !? 

Ethics, what ! ?  - not any political post but about a Politician who stands tall – he measures 1.92 metres (6 ft 4 in) tall, making him the tallest leader within ASEAN and the third tallest in the world behind the prime minister of Albania.  The tall man 62,  is leaving office after less than a year, sent out by a Constitutional Court over ‘ethics violation’.  The former property tycoon responded saying – sad to be labeled dishonest but would abide by the Court decision !!   It happened in Thailand erstwhile known as Siam !  

Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. The main branches of ethics include normative ethics, applied ethics, and metaethics. Normative ethics aims to find general principles that govern how people should act. Applied ethics examines concrete ethical problems in real-life situations, such as abortion, treatment of animals, and business practices. Metaethics explores the underlying assumptions and concepts of ethics.  In short it is more about ‘moral issues’!!  

Sansiri  is one of the largest real estate developers in Thailand,  was founded in 1984 by Srettha Thavisin, Apichat Chutrakul, and Wanchak Buranasiri.  The man in news - Srettha Thavisin,   is the only child of Captain Amnuay Thavisin and Chodchoi Jutrakul. His family's lineage connects to five notable Thai Chinese business dynasties: Yip in Tsoi, Chakkapak, Jutrakul, Lamsam, and Buranasiri.  He has a good educational background -  a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Chulalongkorn University, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  In furtherance, a Master of Business Administration, specialising in Finance, from Claremont Graduate University.  Starting  his professional journey at Procter & Gamble as an assistant product manager, his  entrepreneurial venture took off in 1988 when he co-founded Sansiri, which emerged as one of Thailand's premier real estate developers.  His leadership steered the company to successfully develop over 400 residential projects. 

He is a man with vision and clear principles too !  Srettha  indicated a shift in the government's policy on cannabis, proposing to restrict its use solely to medical purposes.  This approach was a marked  change from the previous policy under Prayut Chan-o-cha, who decriminalised cannabis.

 

Srettha Thavisin is a Thai businessman and politician who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2023 until his dismissal from the position by the Constitutional Court on 14 August 2024 due to his appointment of a cabinet minister who had served time in jail for bribery of government officials. 

In Nov 22, Srettha announced his intention to join the Pheu Thai Party. The next year 2023 Thai general elections, he was named one of the party's three prime ministerial candidates. Throughout the campaign, polls frequently showed him trailing behind Paetongtarn in the race for the preferred prime ministerial choice.  Following the election on 14 May, Pheu Thai emerged as the party with the second-highest number of seats, trailing behind the Move Forward Party. The party then formed a coalition with Move Forward and six other parties.  However, in the first round of parliamentary voting on 13 July, Pita Limjaroenrat failed to secure enough votes.  Subsequently, Pita's second nomination for prime minister was blocked on 19 July on procedural grounds. 

After Move Forward failed to form a government, it gave way for Pheu Thai to attempt to form one. He was able to form with an elongated coalition Governance.    Srettha delivered a speech to Parliament, outlining his vision and goals should he become prime minister, and also responded to questions from MPs and senators.  Srettha was elected as the 30th Prime Minister of Thailand, following a nomination by the Pheu Thai Party. In a special joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, he secured 482 votes out of 728. 

Srettha was elected as Thailand's next prime minister by a joint sitting of parliament on 22 August 2023. His immediate responsibilities included the formation of a cabinet and the presentation of his policies for the forthcoming four years to parliament. The following day, King Vajiralongkorn officially appointed Srettha as the 30th Prime Minister of Thailand. The new cabinet formed by Srettha is composed of 34 ministers representing six parties within the governing coalition.  This included several ministers who had served under the previous administration of Prayut Chan-o-cha. 

In May 2024, 40 military-appointed senators submitted a case accepted by charter court requesting the removal of Srettha and Pichit Chuenban under Section 170 (4) and (5) of the charter, which revolves around the ethics of cabinet ministers. The case was in response to Srettha's appointment of Pichit as a minister of the Prime Minister. Pichit had previously served time in jail for attempting to bribe Supreme Court officials. Pichit resigned on 21 May. On 14 August, the constitutional court dismissed Srettha for gross ethics violation. 

Srettha is the fourth Thai premier in 16 years to be removed by the courts. Thailand's Constitutional Court sacked Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday, branding him dishonest in a ruling in an ethics case that throws the kingdom into fresh political turmoil. The judges ruled 5-4 that Srettha breached regulations by appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction. The ruling comes a week after the same court dissolved the main opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) and banned its former leader from politics for 10 years. Srettha's appointment showed he "has no honesty and breached ethical standards", Judge Punya Udchachon said in reading the court's judgment that "the ministerial position of the prime minister is terminated under the constitution". The court ruled that Srettha must have known about lawyer Pichit Chuenban's 2008 conviction when he appointed him, Punya said. 

Srettha, 62, leaves office after less than a year, the third prime minister from the Pheu Thai party to be kicked out by the Constitutional Court. The former property tycoon said he was "sad" to be labelled dishonest but would abide by the court's decision.

 
Interesting to say the least !!
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
15.8.2024