Reform put on the table

       The Democrat Party and its coalition partners agree that proposed changes to the constitution should pass a first reading in parliament before going before the public in a referendum.
       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the nominal and de facto leaders of the coalition parties met at Ban Phitsanulok yesterday to hold talks on reaching a common position on the charter amendments.
       The de facto leaders included Suwat Liptapanlop,Newin Chidchob,Banharn Silpa-archa and Somsak Thepsuthin.
       Mr Newin, of the Bhumjaithai Party,said they had all agreed the amendment draft should be proposed to parliament.He said a House committee would be set up to draft a referendum for the public to decide which of the six proposed charter amendments should be amended.
       The proposed amendments deal with: the selection of MPs, the selection of senators, a requirement for parliament to approve international contracts, the dissolution of political parties,the demand for MPs to be able to serve as advisers or secretaries to cabinet ministers, and the demand for MPs and senators to have a say in government budgetary affairs.
       The amendments were proposed by a joint committee on national reconciliation and constitutional amendments.
       The committee, which was chaired by Senator Direk Thuengfung, was formed following the Songkran riots this year to study political reforms for the sake of national reconciliation.
       A source at the meeting said the leaders of the coalition parties had pledged support for the Democrat-led coalition government to stay in office and complete its four-year term without having to reshuffle the cabinet.
       The leaders of the coalition parties also agreed there was no need to set a specific time frame to amend the charter, the source said.
       Earlier, Mr Abhisit and leaders of coalition parties were at odds over the referendum issue as he wanted a referendum to be held first to approve proposed amendments to the constitution.
       The Bhumjaithai Party insisted at least two of the six proposed charter amendments should go ahead without the need for a referendum, while the other coalition parties wanted the six proposals to pass the first reading in parliament before a referendum was held.
       Mr Abhisit said opponents and proponents of the proposed charter amendments would be allowed to explain the pros and cons of the charter rewrite for use by the public as a basis to make a decision in the referendum.
       People's Alliance for Democracy coordinator Suriyasai Katasila has opposed the idea of holding a referendum to approve changes to the charter, saying it was a waste of money.
       A referendum costs more than 2 billion baht, he said.
       He said the issue of charter amendments had now become a ploy by politicians to seek advantage and the referendum process would be exploited to turn into a process to approve or disapprove the government.
       Mr Suriyasai suggested a public hearing be held for members of the public to discuss charter amendments.
       The Campaign for Popular Democracy yesterday also called for a referendum to be held first for the public to decide whether the charter should be amended.
       It said the constitution was not the source of the problems besetting the country and the political crisis had resulted from politicians' disregard for the constitution and their failure to act in line with the law and their refusal to put themselves under scrutiny by public and judicial procedures.
       Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondej said public input should be included in the charter rewrite process and a referendum should be held for the public to decide which points in the charter should be amended before the proposed charter amendments are put forward to parliament.
       However, Senator Ruengkrai Leekitwattana said the charter rewrite bid and the proposal to hold a referendum to approve changes to the charter were only attempts by the government to buy time to stay longer in office.