Thailand’s junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha yesterday defended his brother against allegations of nepotism after a leaked memo revealed that the brother, who is a general, had secured a post in the military for his son.
Prayut’s 25-year-old nephew will now serve as a sub-lieutenant in the army’s department of civilian affairs, according to the document signed by his father, an army general who is permanent secretary of defence.
Former army chief Prayut, who seized power in a 2014 coup and has vowed to stamp out corruption, insisted the appointment was lawful and reasonable.
“Today the offspring of military families are appointed (to positions) because they gain trust from what their parents have done for the country,” the junta chief told reporters.
“Everything was legal and correct, that’s it,” he added.
His brother also defended the move in comments to local media, saying his son may lack a military background but is qualified for the post through his experience in public relations at an oil company. The controversy, which has seen activists file complaints of nepotism to the state’s anti-graft agency, comes only days after thousands of parents across the country saw their sons recruited to the kingdom’s armed forces in an annual draft.
Despite their self-styled reputation as graft-busters, the ruling generals have faced several corruption scandals since assuming control of the country.
Last year they were forced to field a flurry of accusations over a multi million dollar park built by the military. There were claims of widespread kickbacks. Internal probes into the park later declared it free of graft, though critics dismissed the findings as lacking transparency. The junta has severely curbed free expression, banning all political activities and holding critics in military camps for “attitude adjustment” sessions.
Political tensions have begun to rise in recent weeks before a referendum on a junta-scripted charter that has been panned by critics as deeply undemocratic. Yesterday evening several dozen people in Bangkok briefly defied a ban on public gatherings to protest at the military’s recent detention of a politician who criticised the charter on social media. Four of them were arrested by police.
The detained politician, Watana Muangsook, is a member of the Pheu Thai party whose administration was toppled by the junta two years ago.
The party, led by the powerful Shinawatra family, has repeatedly dominated elections with its strong support base in the north and northeast.
But it has been removed from power several times in the past decade by judicial rulings and coups backed by a military-allied elite.