Senior monk backs off as Sangha Act amended

THE amendment to the 1992 Sangha Act has gone smoothly so far with no signs of any serious resistance and even a high-profile monk opposed to it softening his stance on the change. 
Proposed and approved by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) yesterday, the amendment allows the King to appoint the Supreme Patriarch at his own discretion. It will no longer be necessary to appoint the new Supreme Patriarch based on the seniority of those holding ecclesiastical posts. 
Phra Methee Dhammachan, secretary-general of the Buddhism Protection Centre of Thailand, said on Facebook yesterday that he did not have a plan to hold a press conference on the issue even though he did not agree with how the NLA had amended the law. 
The NLA held all three readings of the proposed amendment yesterday and gave it the green light. 
Phra Methee Dhammachan, meanwhile, said he also had no plan to submit a petition to NLA President Pornpetch Wichitchol-chai or to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha. 
“There is no point in doing that as the amendment has already sailed through the NLA,” he said 
He also signalled that any plan for like-minded monks gathering to protest against the amendment had been scrapped. 
“I would like to send a message across to monks’ networks that they should cancel any gatherings [for prayers],” he said. 
Earlier yesterday, he had predicted trouble for PM’s Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck and NLA members for allowing the change to the 1992 Sangha Act to go through. 
“From now on, Minister Ormsin Chivapruck and NLA members will have to jointly take responsibility for any trouble that may arise,” Phra Methee Dhammachan warned in a Facebook post.
Though the amendment only affects one article of the law, it is going to reset how the new Supreme Patriarch will be chosen, and will most likely affect the chance of the current acting Supreme Patriarch, Somdet Chuang, taking over as the top monk. 
Phra Methee Dhammachan has organised gatherings of monks on several occasions to show his support for Somdet Chuang. 

Post vacant since 2013
The top ecclesiastical post has remained vacant since Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Sangharaja passed away in 2013.
Under the 1992 Sangha Act, the prime minister and the Sangha Supreme Council were to nominate the new Supreme Patriarch, to be then endorsed by the King. 
However, no official appointment has taken place since the Council nominated Somdet Chuang for the post early this year. Prayut has not submitted the nomination for royal endorsement, citing the alleged involvement of Somdet Chuang in various scandals.
Somdet Chuang faces allegations for evading tax to own a Mercedes-Benz, and is also known to be close to Phra Dhammachayo – a fugitive and controversial former abbot of the Dhammakaya Temple.
The NLA’s first vice president, Surachai Liengboonlertchai, said yesterday that Prayut would submit the newly amended law for royal endorsement.
“It goes into effect as soon as it’s endorsed,” he said, adding that the country’s new Supreme Patriarch will be named as soon as the newly amended law is endorsed. 
The fast-tracking of the amendment by the NLA is nothing peculiar, Surachai insisted.
“Everything proceeded quickly because the Cabinet has chosen to waive its right to not review the amendment draft before the NLA deliberations,” the junta-appointed NLA figure said.
Surachai also denied speculation that the NLA might have been ordered to fast-track the amendment.
“No one has instructed the NLA to do this,” he insisted. 
He added that NLA members might have mutually agreed to clear the bill, because they believe the problem over the pending Supreme Patriarch appointment has to be fixed. 
When asked whether the quick decision could pose future problems as it was made without discussions with other related parties, he said the NLA was only responsible for vetting the laws. 
“You may have to ask the proposer [of the amendment] about that,” he said.
The proposer of the amendment is Pol General Pichit Khuande-chakupt, chair of the NLA committee on religions, arts, culture and tourism.
Despite speculation, he insisted that the new law was not meant to discriminate or keep anybody away from the top ecclesiastical post, saying it would eventually depend on the King’s discretion.