Thailand approves transfer of Phuket governor to Interior Ministry deputy permanent secretary role

Thailand’s cabinet has approved the transfer of Phuket Governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn to the post of deputy permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, with deputy permanent secretary Chotinrin Kerdsom appointed to replace him as Phuket governor.

Deputy Interior Minister Phonphir Suwannachee said on June 16 that the move was made because the Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary wanted to send personnel to address problems in the province.

Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul later said the permanent secretary had proposed the transfer and that he had approved it. He said the decision was based on work efficiency and added that Nirat’s move to deputy permanent secretary was an advancement, saying the Phuket governor had senior standing in terms of his profile.

Speaking after the cabinet meeting at Government House, Phonphir said the decision was aimed at finding someone to resolve issues in Phuket that have had a continuing impact on the area. He said Anutin had already visited the province and remained concerned about problems that should not still be occurring, particularly where business operators and members of the public were being taken advantage of.

Anutin said Phuket had many problems and that, despite his visit, the situation had still not improved. He said repeated public exposés and ongoing conflict were making it impossible to work effectively, and that the government needed someone without conflicts who could work with others in the province.

He said Phuket was an economic city generating enormous revenue for the country, but the government would not allow issues such as beach land encroachment, villagers being driven out, threats, mafia-related behavior or false claims of influence. He also said he had told the Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary to speed up problem-solving in Phuket rather than wait another nine months for investigations or fact-finding committees.

Referring to policy remarks he gave on June 15, Anutin said that if nothing had changed and everything was fine, the permanent secretary would not have acted. He added that he checked on the permanent secretary every day because they worked together daily.

Phonphir said he was not suggesting that Nirat had failed to solve Phuket’s problems, but said the permanent secretary would have had multiple factors to consider in making the decision.

He said the prime minister had instructed all three deputy interior ministers to discuss the province’s problems and said he would soon travel to Phuket himself to review the situation.

Asked whether the reshuffle would help address the issue of local influence, Phonphir said he did not want to characterize the situation that way, but added that if anyone was exploiting the public, it was the ministry’s duty to act. Anutin, when asked whether the transfer was linked to influential figures in the area, said details should be directed to the Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary, who had submitted the proposal.

Phonphir said there was no fixed timeline for Chotinrin to solve Phuket’s problems, but said the prime minister had given clear instructions on what needed to be done. Phonphir also said Phuket, described by the prime minister as a sandbox, should be managed well, and that some legal obstacles were failing to facilitate the public and business operators. Anutin also said Phuket should be treated as a sandbox.

Phonphir said he did not know whether Nirat had been willing to leave the province, adding that transfer orders were a matter for superiors and that, as a deputy interior minister, he did not have the authority to transfer officials himself.

According to the report, the Interior Ministry submitted the reshuffle to the cabinet as an urgent agenda item. The cabinet approved it without objection, and the matter was not raised for debate by the prime minister, who also serves as interior minister, or by other ministers.

Responding to opposition criticism that the move amounted to little more than a bureaucratic transfer, Phonphir said: “Just wait and see what we can do.”