iLaw lambastes 'impractical' NRC proposals

The group, which conducted a study on the accomplishments of the junta-appointed NRC, said yesterday that the agency proposed the creation of 100 new government agencies, provided 505 vague legislative proposals and presented a reform timeframe that extends until 2032. 

It added that the NRC failed to prioritise various reform agenda and did not take into account government financing, which may not permit the creation of many more agencies. 

iLaw also said that many proposals were not new, and several of them had been proposed in the past but dropped because they were not tangible, such as the plan to make citizens more informed and participatory, for government to be more transparent, reforming police investigation work, and providing better protection for the elderly. 

The NRC’s vague wish list, it said, largely failed to come up with new reform proposals, or add any depth to the already existing literature on topics covered by previous reform panels led by people like Prawase Wasi or Kanit na Nakorn.

iLaw pointed out that future reformers should work on reducing the bureaucracy, not increasing it. It also slammed the NRC for proposing legislation for an undemocratic environment, which would not be accepted by all stakeholders in society. 

“The expected reform ethos is based on trust in a system of public participation, checks and balance… but the NRC is adhering to an ethos of ‘good people’ and ‘moral state’,” iLaw concluded.