By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Sep 9 2008 (IPS)

A passion for Thai cooking provied to be Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s undoing. A court ruled Tuesday that he had broken the law by appearing for payment on a widely televised cooking programme after becoming the leader of the country this year.

The verdict by the nine-bench Constitutional Court compels the 73-year-old combative political veteran to resign as head of a six-party coalition, which was elected to power at the December general elections. The judgement does not rule out the possibility of Samak returning to power in the coming days.

The superior court’s dismissal of a prime minister for his love of churning up spicy Thai dishes is unprecedented in the country’s history. Samak becomes the highest ranking politician to lose a court battle while in office. The world, too, may have never witnessed a leader of a country forced to resign for the misdemeanour of getting an honorarium for being a TV chef.

‘’There is something theatrical, something unreal, bizarre about this verdict,’’ Michael Nelson, a German academic specialising in Thai political culture, told IPS. ‘’The court forced the prime minister to step down for a small matter knowing full well that he can be reinstated by his coalition parties in a few days.’’

But that is not the only farcical twist to a political drama that unfolding on the streets of Bangkok, threatening to make this South-east Asian nation the laughing stock of the region. The drama, which has pitted an anti-government protests group against the Samak administration, has seen equally surreal turns, including the police being condemned for trying to enforce the law and the army praised for disobeying it.

The protesters, who are rallied under the banner of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), have played their part too. After taking over a broad street in a historic part of the capital for a round-the clock rally three months ago, the PAD accelerated its push to topple the Samak administration by forcing its way into the prime minister’s office in late August, virtually crippling the government.

The PAD, moreover, has not been shy to reveal its political agenda that belies its name. It wants to replace the prevailing electoral environment with a parliament where 70 percent of the legislators are appointed and 30 percent elected. Such a formula, described as ‘’new politics,’’ is aimed at stopping governments like the one led by Samak and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a September 2006 military coup, returning to power. Samak and Thaksin were victorious at the polls due to huge support from the rural poor.

Nelson, the analyst, expects little change from the PAD following this verdict. ‘’They have been pushing for structural reform of Thai politics. I am not sure if the judgement against Samak will have any bearing on what the PAD wants to achieve.’’

If anything, the ruling against the country’s 25th prime minister since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy 76 years ago confirms that the courts are taking issues of conflict of interest involving parliamentarians and high profile figures more seriously than before. The verdict comes over a month after the criminal court found Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of former premier Thaksin, guilty of tax fraud.

‘’A standard is being affirmed by the courts on conflict of interest issues,’’ Sunai Phasuk, Thai researcher for the global rights lobby Human Rights Watch, said in an interview. ‘’Those in power, no matter who they are, cannot violate the law or the constitution and expect to get away.’’

An emboldened judiciary has been a noticeable feature in Thailand since Thaksin’s five-and-a-half-year-term came to an end following the putsch two years ago. A special tribunal appointed by the junta that followed the 18th coup ruled against Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thai) party for election malpractice, disbanding it and depriving its 111 executives political rights for five years.

Earlier this year, there were a string of court verdicts against government ministers and the speaker of the parliament. They ranged from election fraud, which could lead to the dissolution of the People’s Power Party that Samak heads, the failure to declare assets ahead of an election and violating a clause in the constitution that calls for parliamentary scrutiny for any international agreement.

The charge against Samak, brought by a group of senators, is mild by comparison. The show he appeared on was one where he was the main star for seven years. The title of his popular show – ‘Tasting and Complaining’ – conveyed the personality of a man who has been in the thick of Thai politics, beginning with a belligerent right-wing phase in the 1970s. He would openly grumble about issues that bothered him as he prepared a range of dishes, some of which were his own recipes.

‘’I was hired to appear on the programme and got paid from time to time,’’ Samak told the court on Monday. ‘’I presented the cooking show and got paid for my acting.’’

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