Shunting of 2 Buri Ram officials riles Bhumjaithai Party
Korrawee Prissananantakul, a BJT MP for Ang Thong and a member of the House committee on administration, questioned Mr Phumtham, who is now also serving as the acting prime minister, and his decision, which Mr Korrawee said was lacking an adequate explanation.
"It begs the question as to why Mr Phumtham, who was installed in office last week, made the decision to transfer officials quite early this week."
The MP said the minister would need to prove how the transfer will help the performance of his ministry, adding that high-level transfers of officials often send a signal of sorts. As such, he said, the move should be fair and designed to enhance work efficiency, not used for political vengeance.
One of the officials transferred was Chaiwat Chuntirapong, formerly the director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration (DoPA). On Tuesday, he was made an inspector-general of the Interior Ministry. He will be replaced by Chiang Mai governor Nirat Wongsitthithavorn.
Narucha Kosasivilai, director-general of the Department of Local Administration, was appointed an inspector-general of the ministry. He will be succeeded by Phetchaburi governor Phopchanok Chalanukroh.
Sanong Thep-aksornnarong, a BJT MP for Buri Ram, asked in the House yesterday if these officials were suddenly shunted to new posts simply because they were from the province known as BJT's political stronghold.
"If you [Mr Phumtham] are thinking of transferring all of the officials appointed by Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul, then you may have to transfer all the provincial governors," said Mr Sanong.
Mr Phumtham on Tuesday referred to a shortage of material used to make national ID cards in Buri Ram as a probable cause of Mr Chaiwat's transfer. The DoPA is in charge of issuing ID cards to all Thais. "It is a small example, and it may not be the case of why he was transferred," said Mr Phumtham.
"I told officials I will give them three months, but anything that obstructs our work can be changed. It has nothing to do with Buri Ram or politics. And it's not about how close they are with the previous interior minister," he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bangkok Post
16 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Sweden denies suspending sales of Gripen fighter jets to Thailand
The Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok has denied reports claiming Sweden has suspended further sales of its Gripen fighter jets to Thailand. The embassy, writing on its Facebook page, said no decision has been made to suspend future sales of Gripen aircraft to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). The clarification comes amid a wave of misinformation following the RTAF's recent use of Gripen jets along the Thai-Cambodian border. The controversy arose after the RTAF refuted a report by Cambodia's Phnom Penh Post newspaper, which claimed Sweden was freezing its planned sale of additional fighter jets after recent air strikes on Cambodia. Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub also dismissed the news of Sweden cancelling the Gripen sale to the RTAF. The reports originated from Cambodian media outlets in response to the air force's deployment of the Gripen jets to protect Thai sovereignty, he said. "This is a daily dose of lies from Cambodia's media outlets. These claims should not be believed nor shared without proper verification," he said. He urged Thais to combat disinformation by sharing information from government agencies through social media.
Bangkok Post
2 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Court disqualifies Pheu Thai MP for misuse of funds
The Constitutional Court on Friday disqualified Pichet Chuamuangphan as a Chiang Rai MP for violating Section 144 of the Constitution by misusing public funds. Mr Pichet, who served as first deputy House speaker, was accused of influencing the approval of three budget proposals from the Secretariat of the House of Representatives. The case was filed by People's Party MP Bhuntin Noumjerm and 120 other MPs. In its ruling, the court found that Mr Pichet, from the governing Pheu Thai Party, had a role in pushing the three projects and used his authority as both an MP and deputy speaker to influence budget decisions for personal political gain. His action was a breach of Section 144 which prohibits lawmakers from altering or adding to a budget bill in a manner that leads to the misuse of state funds. The court ordered that Mr Pichet's MP status be terminated, effective from Aug 1, and revoked his right to contest elections for 10 years. As a result, he also lost his deputy speaker's post.
Bangkok Post
3 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Bhumjaithai MP slams govt's 'slow, inadequate' response
A tense House session yesterday saw Bhumjaithai Party MP Thana Kitpaiboonchai blast the government's response to the Thai-Cambodian border conflict as "slow and inadequate". Mr Thana, who represents Si Sa Ket, criticised the lack of financial assistance for provinces directly affected by the conflict. He said local administration organisations (LAOs) in Si Sa Ket, Surin, Buri Ram and Ubon Ratchathani have been forced to rely on their limited budget and private donations, despite the "hundreds of billions" in the central government's coffers. "Are our border citizens not worth your concern?" he said, before noting that the families of those killed by the violence in the South received 7.5 million baht in compensation, while relatives of those killed in the current border conflict with Cambodia would only receive about a million baht. Although Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra -- who is currently suspended from duty pending a ruling on the leaked clip of her conversation with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen -- appointed Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai to answer on her behalf, it was Deputy Interior Minister Theerarat Samrejvanich who responded to Mr Thana's criticism. Ms Theerarat defended the government's response, saying the provinces have been declared disaster zones, which allows LAOs to access emergency funds. She claimed the government has approved and disbursed 100 million baht for each province to help deal with the current situation. She said the government is coordinating with the Comptroller General's Department to ease funding restrictions, before adding that additional support is available from several state agencies. In a dramatic moment, Ms Theerarat phoned Ubon Ratchathani governor Adisak Noysuwan during the session to confirm budget availability. Mr Adisak affirmed funds were accessible. However, Ang Thong MP Koravee Prisananantakul objected, accusing Ms Theerarat of violating parliamentary rules by involving an outsider. The House speaker issued a warning but let the session continue. Near the end of the session, Mr Thana urged coalition MPs to reassess their loyalty: "If you support a government that abandons its people, stand by them until election day.
