Thai Junta Beset By Corruption Scandals

The pot calling the kettle black is the new normal in the government of the self-appointed Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Claiming to eradicate rampant corruption allegedly cultivated by the “evil” Thaksin regime, Prayuth took power with a stated mission of cleansing Thai politics. Obviously, blaming Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai premier from 2001-2006, and the recently deposed government of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister, was a winning tactic to legitimize the May 22 coup.

As it has turned out, Prayuth’s handpicked Cabinet members are no more ethical than the supposedly corrupt Shinawatras. In September, Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister M.L. Panadda Diskul, a royalist, anti-Thaksin figure, was implicated in a series of corruption allegations. In refurbishing the meeting room at Government House, he allegedly purchased state-of-the art microphones and electronic curtains at much higher prices than they sell for online.

Under public scrutiny, Panadda, who had earlier condemned the Thaksin regime and its practices, became evasive and disappeared from the public eye. Prayuth solved the problem by returning the expensive microphones and curtains to the company. No further investigation was conducted.

The latest corruption allegations could pose a more serious challenge to Prayuth’s regime. As part of the terms of being appointed to the National Legislative Council (NLC), members are required to reveal their assets and property to determine if they are “unusually rich.” Initially, a number of NLC members were reluctant to disclose their wealth. For example, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, president of the NLC, refused outright, claiming that some of his belongings were “priceless” and therefore their value could not be estimated.

The eventual revelation of the NLC members’ assets shocked the country, as many members turned out to be fabulously rich. Police Chief Somyos Poompanmuang and his wife, for example, were revealed to worth about 355.8 million baht (roughly $11 million), raising the question of how a lifelong career in the public sector could have made him a millionaire many times over.

Another shocking case has been that of Prayuth’s own brother, General Preecha Chan-ocha, who was also handpicked to serve in the NLC. Preecha earlier declared that he possessed assets worth approximately 79 million baht. This prompted social media users in Thailand to try and trace the sources of Preecha’s wealth. These investigations found that the money in at least one of Preecha’s bank accounts had apparently come directly from the budget of the 3rd Army, which he used to command. They also found that due to a “math” error in adding up his bank accounts, Preecha’s net worth was closer to 90 million baht than the 79 million baht he originally claimed.

Thais are not hopeful that Prayuth will censor his brother for these transgressions. Preecha Chan-ocha’s case will in all likelihood prove similar to earlier ones that the press stopped covering and the people soon forgot.

The revelations about his brother’s wealth did anger Prayuth, however, but only because they made some Thais demand that the government increase transparency. He reportedly said, “I beg you not to dig up anything. There is no benefit in so doing. My government is here today to solve problems. I have so many burdens on my shoulder. My wife is also in this difficult situation. I just want some kind of moral support from you. I need your understanding. But the media has tried to dig up many issues. So have some politicians. I must say that you cannot do that for the time being.”

The claimed rationale for the coup was to eradicate chronic graft. Unfortunately, it is now apparent that the Prayuth government has only exacerbated the culture of corruption. Worse, out of fear for their own safety, the media and the public are often too frightened to speak out against Prayuth’s regime. After all, Thailand is still under martial law and the National Council of Peace and Order – the governing body of the coup leaders – has placed itself in sole command of the Thai nation.

The politics of Prayuth are ultimately indicative of larger, deep-seated anxieties among the army and its supporters in the palace. Namely, the May 22 coup was not meant to tackle the so-called corruption problem, but rather to ensure that representatives of the palace would be in power for the critical future royal transition. From the royalists’ perspective, the stakes are too high to allow Thaksin proxies to be in charge of the royal transition. As such, they had to be removed.

Corruption happened to be the perfect excuse to legitimize the decision to topple the Thaksin regime. Clearly, though, the political leaders of the new military government are as corrupt as previous governments. The only difference is that under military rule, calls for transparency and good governance often fall on deaf ears.