Brief F&N posting no violation, PTT CEO insists
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PTT chief Pailin Chuchottaworn insists that he did not violate any law by briefly serving as an independent director of Singapore's Fraser and Neave (F&N) and says it is up to the oil and gas company's board whether he could lose his job.
Pailin, president and chief executive officer of PTT, said that he was not worried about the investigation by the company’s audit committee into whether his decision violated the laws governing state enterprises. He said he asked for the investigation himself in April, and he wanted to set a standard for other state-enterprise chiefs.
“I am under no political influence to leave the post,” he told reporters during a trip to Melbourne.
“What the result of the investigation will be or whether I will remain as the CEO of PTT, all that depends on the board. I can stay or leave, as I’m not attached to this post.”
A group of petitioners had asked the House of Representatives’ anti-corruption committee to look into whether Pailin had breached a 1975 law governing the qualification of board directors and employees of state enterprises. This prompted the audit committee chaired by PTT acting chairman Chulasingh Vasantasingh to probe the case.
One condition in the law states that the executives of state enterprises must dedicate themselves full-time to their positions.
The audit committee will rule on July 12 whether Pailin violated state-enterprise rules and regulations by becoming an independent director of F&N. It is expected to submit a conclusion to the PTT board on July 26.
Pailin accepted the invitation from F&N in February to be a director, but it did not stir criticism until last month – after he had stepped down. The audit committee was asked to conduct an inquiry only when the petition was filed.
