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'Politicians Are Scared'
Gothom Arya on cleaning up Thai politics ahead of national elections on Jan. 6
By ROBERT HORN

January 3, 2001
Web posted at 3:45 p.m. Hong Kong time, 2:45 a.m. EDT

As a member of Thailand's new Election Commission, retired engineering professor Gothom Arya still views himself as an educator. He and his colleagues are teaching stern lessons to candidates who buy votes, use violence or otherwise violate the law. The five-person commission has already disqualified several cheating candidates and is likely to void the victories of scores of others after national elections on Jan. 6. Gothom spoke with TIME's Bangkok reporter Robert Horn about the trials and tribulations of attempting to clean up the nation's political system. Edited excerpts:

TIME: How important is this election for Thailand, and why?
Arya: It is very important because if we fail in our efforts to reform the elections, politics will suffer a serious setback. If we succeed, it doesn't mean that reform has been achieved. Reform cannot be carried out overnight. It's a long process.

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TIME: Why did you take this job?
Arya: Because I think I can make a contribution to my country and society. As a teacher I did, but to a smaller audience. I chair the commission's public participation committee, trying to get people to take part in the political process and understand what's being done. Basically my job remains an educator's job, but on a different subject and to a larger audience.

TIME: How many complaints of vote buying and other electoral violations have you received?
Arya: In our Bangkok office alone we're getting more than 30 phone calls a day, and it's increasing. That's more than 700 complaints in one month and in one single office.

TIME: If the Election Commission does its job well, will this be the last Thai election in which we'll see massive vote buying?
Arya: No, I don't think so. Although this time round it has already decreased significantly.

TIME: When will we see Thai elections that are clean?
Arya: In my next life. I can't really think of a country where politicians won't try their best to circumvent the regulations to get what they want. It's just harder when the system is better, and the people are more educated. But I am optimistic about the future.

TIME: The commission has already issued red cards [disqualifications] to three candidates for buying votes even before the polls have opened. How many red cards do you expect to give out?
Arya: It's too soon to say. It is difficult to get a red card because most of the candidates know the law and shield themselves. I'm not that anxious to issue red cards anyway. It's necessary to give them out, but certainly not enjoyable. After all, politicians are people too. Disqualifying someone strongly affects his or her reputation and career. And it's possible we could make a mistake. Furthermore, it's impossible to catch everyone who cheats. I don't know, maybe I'm just not meant to be a judge.

TIME: If a red card is a deterrent, are the politicians scared?
Arya: Yes, I believe so. During the last election four years ago, politicians and their workers would go to polling stations in some areas and tell poll monitors and volunteers to go home. That was arrogant behavior. It's early to say, because the contest is not finished, but I'm crossing my fingers that these practices are more or less over.

TIME: Thai elections have a history of being fairly violent. By giving out red cards, the commission has angered some very powerful people. Have you been threatened?
Arya: In the past I had been threatened several times while working with PollWatch (an independent election-monitoring group) and for opposing the government of Suchinda [Kraprayoon, Thailand's last military dictator]. It does not mean that I'm not frightened. So far, there has been no direct threat to the Election Commission and its members, but it doesn't mean there won't be. If we get threats I will be more careful, but I won't give up.

TIME: Do you fear that when the election is over and a new parliament is seated, that the politicians, angry over the commission having handed out red cards to their colleagues, will try and reduce the commission's power?
Arya: They might, but they will have to take into consideration public sentiment. We don't mind having a new system that is more practical, even if it means curbing our power. But we will mind if it means we become ineffective. There is also a danger in having too much power. Any changes should be made through open debate. We should ask the people to tell us what they want.

TIME: What are some of your other concerns about Thai politics?
Arya: Politician bashing. Whenever something goes wrong, people just blame it on the politicians. I don't deny that some of them deserve it. But if we exaggerate this tendency the danger will be that we won't be able to bring new qualified and ethical persons into government -- they don't want to be subjected to unjustified blame. Then young people will lose faith in the political process. I don't think all this is very healthy in the long run.

TIME: You're a retired professor of electrical engineering. Why did you get involved in politics, even though it's in a nonpartisan way?
Arya: I got a scholarship to study electrical engineering at Paris University. That's when I became politically aware. I was a participant in the Paris street protests of 1968. I was there when they started beating people. After I returned to Thailand in 1969, I founded the Union for Civil Liberties, the country's first human-rights group.

TIME: Didn't Pol Pot [the murderous Khmer Rouge leader] also go to Paris on an engineering scholarship?
Arya: I've had a much less colorful career than Pol Pot.