The selection board has not yet concluded on the name of the new BOT board chairman after there was opposition to Kittirat Na Ranong, fearing that politics would interfere with his independence.
Mrs. Wirekha Santaphan, Secretary of the Selection Committee for the Chairman and Qualified Directors of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), revealed that in the Selection Committee meeting held yesterday (8 October), the Secretariat needed to examine additional information to ensure that the information was complete for the meeting’s consideration. Therefore, the extension of the time period to examine the accuracy of the information was requested in order to ensure that the selection of the Chairman and Qualified Directors was as thorough as possible. The information will be compiled and presented to the Selection Committee as soon as possible.
Reporters reported that there is news that Mr. Kittiratt Na Ranong, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, will be nominated to be the new Chairman of the BOT. Howe
ver, the nomination this time, 9 names, 6 names were proposed by the Ministry of Finance and 3 names by the BOT. Others include Mr. Kulit Sombatsiri, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Mr. Surapol Nitikraipot, Chairman of the Council of Thammasat University. The committee for selecting the Chairman of the BOT consists of 7 names as follows: Dr. Sathit Limpongpan, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Boonyarit Kalyanamitra, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Witoon Simachokedee, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Worawit Champirat, former Director of the Budget Bureau, Atchaporn Charujinda, former Secretary-General of the Office of the Council of State, Pakorn Malakul Na Ayutthaya, former Secretary-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Suthiphon Taveechaikarn, former Secretary-General of the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC)
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance
Minister Pichai Chunhavajira refused to comment on the matter yesterday (8 October) after criticism that Kittiratt will be appointed as the new BOT board chairman to replace Paramet Vimolsiri, BOT chairman whose term will expire in September 2024. The Bank of Thailand Act, in the regulations on the meeting of the selection committee, nomination, consideration and selection of qualified persons to be the chairman or qualified member of the BOT board of directors B.E. 2551, stipulates 8 prohibited qualifications for the BOT board chairman:
(1) being an incompetent or quasi-incompetent
person; (2) being bankrupt or having been a dishonest bankrupt;
(3) having been sentenced to imprisonment by a final judgment, except for an offense committed through negligence or a minor offense;
(4) being or having been a politician, unless he has left that position for at least one year;
(5) being or having been a politician, or an official of a political party, unless he has left that position for at least one year;
(6)
being a director or holding a position in a financial institution, unless it is holding
(7) Being a director, executive, or person with management authority, or having a significant interest in a juristic person which has a benefit or interest related to the BOT’s business, such as (a) a juristic person which has entered into
a business contract or is about to become a business contract partner with the BOT, which has a nature that causes a conflict of interest with the BOT’s performance of duties;
(b) a juristic person which is under the supervision or inspection of the BOT, unless the position is held because of a specific law;
(8) Being a contract partner or having an interest in a contract or business of the BOT which has a nature that causes a conflict of interest with the BOT’s performance of duties. This shall also apply to spouses and children who have not yet reached the age of majority of the person to be nominated.
Mrs. Tarisa Watanagase, former governor of the Bank of Thailand, posted on Face
book that at this time, only the conscience of the BOT chairman selection committee can prevent economic disaster. In the past, the government has clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with the BOT, both in terms of not reducing interest rates and opposing the policy of handing out 10,000 baht. Recently, there is an expectation that the government will send one of its people to be the BOT chairman as a tool to implement the government’s policies. If this happens, disaster for the Thai economy will certainly follow, similar to in other countries where the government intervenes in the central bank. Such actions have shaken the confidence of foreign countries in the economic system because the intervened central bank will not be able to play a role in maintaining economic stability in the long term. The economy is therefore at risk of being damaged by policies that focus only on stimulating the economy in the short term.
In fact, the BOT’s law takes into account the risk that the selection committee will be int
erfered with by politics if the committee is still in the civil service position. Therefore, the law stipulates that the selection committee must be retired senior civil servants of important economic agencies in order to be safe from interference. In the past, the selection committees for important positions of the BOT have performed their duties independently and have not accepted interference. Therefore, the selected persons are suitable, understand the role of the central bank, and can perform their duties appropriately and are accepted by society. Therefore, we can only hope that the selection committee this time will be able to perform this important duty with the same principles. No one wants to be recorded in history as one of the people who must be responsible for turning the Thai economy into the first step of disaster.
In addition, a group of disciples of Luang Ta Phra Maha Bua Yanasampanno wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, calling for him not to bring politics and not to bring people whose he
arts are connected to politics to interfere with the power and duties of the BOT.
Source: Thai News Agency