A prominent anti-corruption activist on Sunday called for the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to disclose the names of the bigwigs who supported the appointment of two lawmakers currently under investigation for unusual wealth to a panel scrutinising a draft organic law on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Veera Somkwamkid, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Network, said he is confident those who made the recommendations must be people in the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
The first of the two panel appointments is former national police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon, the younger brother of Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon. The other is Pol Lt Gen Boonrueng Polpanich, a member of the NLA.
Mr Veera said the NLA, as the body which set up the panel on the draft organic law on the NACC, must tell the public who recommended the appointments and why the pair are suitable for the position.
"The appointments of Pol Gen Patcharawat and Pol Gen Boonrueng are undermining the credibility of the panel. If they are allowed to consider the draft organic law on the NACC, I'm sure a conflict of interest can occur,'' Mr Veera said.
Asked if the pair should withdraw from the positions, Mr Veera said they should acknowledge the inappropriateness of the situation and step down.
His comments come as critics insist the pair's involvement in the examination of the organic law could taint the process.
The appointments were made last week by the NLA as it accepted the bill for scrutiny.
Some say the appointments of Pol Gen Patcharawat and Pol Lt Gen Boonrueng have raised a question of ethics within the system, while others believe a conflict of interest is inevitable as they are being probed by the same body.
The controversy comes hot on the heels of Constitution Drafting Committee chairman (CDC) Meechai Ruchupan being accused of nepotism after it emerged his daughter, Mayura Chuangchote, was appointed to work as his deputy secretary soon after the panel was established.
The Pheu Thai party has also called the appointments of Pol Gen Patcharawat and Pol Gen Boonrueang inapropriate.
Chusak Sirinil, head of the party's legal affairs team, said the controversy has to do with suitability, rather than any conflict of interest or ethical concerns.
According to Mr Chusak, while the charter requires the Constitutional Court and independent agencies to draft a rule book on ethical standards within one year, the process is not yet complete.
"I think they are still gathering public input, so we can say at this stage there is no rule book on this issue," he said.
The Pheu Thai member said some critics have raised a question of conflict of interest, but he believes the controversy does not fall into this area either.
He said the issue is not addressed in the NLA's regulations either. "It is more about suitability. I think we can use conscience to judge if it is good or bad. In this regime you can do what you want. You can appoint children for your subordinates [to any post]. "Under the normal circumstances, no one can do this without stirring up trouble," he said.
