BANGKOK: Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit (pic), former leader of the now defunct Future Forward Party, has been named a member of the Parliament’s ad-hoc committee to study the transfer of businesses under the armed forces to come under government supervision.
A news source said on Thursday that Thanathorn’s nomination was submitted by three Move Forward MPs, namely Bencha Saengchantra (party list), Chetawan Thuaprakhon (Pathum Thani), and Ekkarach Udomumnouy (Bangkok) to fill the party’s quota on the 25-person committee.
The panel will have 90 days to study the possibility and process of transferring businesses under the armed forces to come under government supervision and submit the report to the Parliament for consideration. The main focuses are businesses involved in electricity generation, golf courses, and airports.
Bencha told reporters that one of the objectives of the study is to discover the true profits of military businesses as well as the wealth of certain generals, which she deemed “a mystery that has never been publicly verified”.
“Generals who hold political positions have unusual wealth after they retire, and that wealth can be 10 million baht, 100 million baht or even significantly more,” she pointed out.
“From the past to present, there have been over 3,000 generals whose net worth exceeded 10 million baht in Thailand.”
Bencha added that the committee will look into how the generals obtain such wealth in their career from military-related operations, including land rental, military clubs, hotels, boxing stadiums, and radio and TV stations.
“We will also look into why generals have made their way to sit on the boards of 56 state enterprises, including those in high-earning industries such as railways, petroleum, banking and tourism,” she added.
Before being banned from politics for breaking election laws in 2020, Thanathorn was outspoken about reforming the armed forces, in a bid to curb the power of military juntas and ensure that any profits generated by the military go to the public.
Thanathorn's Future Forward Party is the predecessor of Move Forward Party, which won the most MP seats in the May 2023 general election. - The Nation/ANN
