Wichean unfazed by latest move to transport
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It might seem odd to see a former police chief and security czar taking up the position of permanent secretary at the Transport Ministry - but Wichean Potephosree agreed to the job because his boss assigned him and he was proud to do so.
He will hold the position until his retirement at the end of September next year.
Wichean has been moved many times over the past year under Yingluck Shinawatra’s government. He served as national police chief when Yingluck came to office, before being transferred to become secretary-general of the National Security Council. That move paved the way for Yingluck’s brother-in-law Priewpan Damapong to be national police chief.
Wichean said he never believed earlier rumours that he would be moved again to the position of permanent-secretary of the Transport Ministry, as it was not familiar to him.
However, it became true, as Transport Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan called him and confirmed the new position would be effective from October 1, at the beginning of new fiscal year.
“I’m not disappointed as long as it is an order from the commander. I’m proud of it,” he said in an interview. “That means (she) trusts me.”
He is the first permanent-secretary at the Transport Ministry who has a background in police and security matters. “Outsiders might not know, but transport and the security agency are under the same security law,” he said.
“This ministry has a lot of infrastructure construction mega projects underway with a huge budget. It might be useful if a former police office has a chance to look at these projects in detail. They could [be cleaned up of] corruption,” he said.
Although he has been a police officer for a long time in the bureaucracy, Wichean said he also holds two master’s degrees in public and business administration as well as a master’s in economic law. “I can recall [and apply] this knowledge easily for the new job,” he said.
Wichean said he would enter the ministry alone and did not have his own support group. The ministry had many capable officials who could team up with him, he said. Of course, there might be some officials who may want to block his way – but Wichean said that was the nature of the Thai bureaucracy and such a problem was not difficult to overcome.
“I have no bias towards anybody there as an assigned superior. I will spend the next year of my career doing my best,” he said.
“What I need to do urgently now is to recall my knowledge on public administration to run the ministry,” he said. “Perhaps, the best knowledge I have is about exercising security – to secure my position,” he said as a joke.
