Bangkok: The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior chaired a critical meeting to investigate issues surrounding the recruitment examination of local government officials, with plans to revoke the names of 5,000 individuals involved.
According to Thai News Agency, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Mr. Arsit Sampanrat, led a meeting of the Central Committee for Local Government Employee Examinations. The meeting's primary agenda was the anticipated cancellation of appointments for over 5,000 local government officials due to discrepancies between their answer sheet scores and the officially announced results. Mr. Arsit indicated that while he was not concerned about the outcome, the responsibility lies with the Central Committee for Civil Servants or Local Government Employees to make a decision. The Central Committee's deliberations on this matter are expected to commence on July 23rd.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Mr. Suchart Kruaykitthanon, was present as an observer. He emphasized that the authority to revoke the names rests with the Department of Local Administration (DLA) and that the investigation would extend to prosecute any involved government officials. Mr. Suchart highlighted that while the details of the meeting were available in the distributed documents, he was uncertain about the immediate clarity regarding the revocation of the 5,000 names, as further details were pending from the Department of Local Administration.
Mr. Suchart further explained that recommendations from the observations would be presented at the meeting. However, specific details remain undisclosed due to the late arrival of the meeting invitation. He clarified that the investigation by the NACC would run concurrently to avoid impacting the case file. The decision to revoke names will be submitted to the NACC committee for further consideration. The Department of Local Administration holds the authority to revoke the names, pending the identification of all involved parties.
In response to queries about reporting the information to the fact-finding and legal committee investigating corruption in competitive examinations, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilapraphan, Mr. Suchart assured that support would be provided if requested. He emphasized the urgency of expediting the case and reiterated that the meeting aimed to discuss examination guidelines and resolve current issues, following the MOU signed with the Department of Local Administration.