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| Southeast Asia |
| Thai Muslim party merit doubted |
| 2006-05-14 |
| Critics argue it would serve southerners only Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Wannasathit has questioned the idea of establishing a Muslim political party, which drew mixed responses from university scholars and Muslim communities yesterday. Pol Gen Chidchai, while not opposing the idea, said it was too soon to say whether a new party could help solve the ongoing southern insurgency. ''The party has not yet taken shape and what I can see now is only its shadow. It's too soon to predict its future role,'' Pol Gen Chidchai said. He said any new party could be set up under the constitution, which grants people the right to carry out political activities. The idea was recently initiated by Muslim scholars in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, the southernmost provinces adjacent to Islamic Malaysia. It was proposed under the concept that the problems of Muslim people should be solved by Muslim people. ''This new party could be the most crucial factor in future politics, no matter what side _ the government or opposition _ it would be aligned with,'' said political scientist Chidchanok Rahimula of Prince of Songkhla University (PSU) in Pattani. Muslim communities nationwide could found the party and together decide their own policies, which should satisfy the needs of Thai Muslims, she said. Groups of Muslim politicians in big parties did not always represent the Muslim voice, Ms Chidchanok said. Citing the Wadah faction in the Thai Rak Thai party, the academic said the group had only little influence in drafting policies because it usually depended on party leader Thaksin Shinawatra. She said many people in the three troubled provinces welcomed the idea after learning about it. The scholars who proposed setting up the Muslim party are now working on proposals for its structure. However, an economist at the PSU's Islamic College in Pattani believed the idea could not be brought into practice. ''The Muslim party would become only a voice of people in the three southernmost provinces,'' said Abdulloh Abbru. ''A political party must be set up for the sake of the nation.'' Leading historian Prof Nithi Eawsriwong said the proposed new party would cause people to feel that the southern insurgency resulted from a religious conflict. He said the root of the problem was racial, as many Muslims in the deep south were descendants of Indian settlers. The Muslim community in Ayutthaya also disagreed with the proposed Muslim party. Members said yesterday that it would cause divisions in the country and widen the difference between Buddhists and Muslims. Pichet Sathirachawal, a former deputy transport minister, said he was ready to contribute five million baht to help start the party. Banned from politics for five years until Aug 29 next year, Mr Pichet said he believed the new party could help solve the problems of the 11 million Muslims in Thailand. If the party was supported by only five million of the Muslim population, it would secure 20 House seats for candidates under the party list system. The former Thai Rak Thai member has been barred from political activities after the court found him guilty of falsely declaring assets in 2002. He became Muslim through a marriage and has been selected as a member of the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand. |
| Posted by:ryuge |