I echo the sadness expressed over Thailand's lost opportunities to achieve development on a par with Singapore. I attribute our failure to one factor - the common belief that Thailand's evils can only be cured by legislation. The fixation on laws as a one-size-fits-all remedy has resulted in our going through 20 constitutions in 83 years - an average of one every four years. Prominent lawyers always play a great part in the drafting of Thai charters, labouring under the delusion that theirs will endure in a coup-less future. They have been proven wrong 20 times and that number will almost inevitably rise.