MP sleuths: outrageous graft uncovered
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Opposition Democrat MPs yesterday backed their allegations against the government with findings from their own investigations - something new for a censure debate, as the Opposition is often accused of relying too much on information from the mass media.
Democrat MP Rangsima Rodrasamee from Samut Songkhram accused the prime minister of failing to effectively tackle corruption involving certain government agencies. She pointed to a project to repair and rebuild public artesian wells in areas affected by last year’s floods.
Rangsima produced video recordings of interviews with local community leaders in some provinces that she visited as part of her investigation. Several clips of her conversations with the local leaders were displayed during yesterday’s live broadcast on the final day of the censure debate against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and three other Cabinet members.
The Democrat MP said her probe found cases of irregularities. The cost of repairing and rebuilding wells was much higher than normal, some repairs were done on privately owned wells, and on wells that did not require any repair – because the area was not affected by last year’s flood.
She noted that the prime minister was absent at the time she took the floor. Rangsima said if Yingluck had been in the meeting chamber, she would have asked her to swear by her promise to fight corruption. She also wished harm on corrupt politicians.
Democrat MP Vilas Chanpitak from Bangkok, during yesterday’s Opposition grilling of the prime minister, said that Yingluck was insincere in tackling the corruption problem although she repeatedly announced her government would suppress graft as part of its “Stop Corruption” campaign.
He said the prime minister failed to pay attention while certain government agencies were involved in “outrageous corruption”.
Vilas said that a small group of people managed to win bids to supply products to certain state agencies at inflated prices – more than 10 times the original prices in some cases – through companies with questionable histories.
The Democrat MP said he investigated the matter by himself, going to the addresses in many Northeastern provinces that were registered as offices of the companies mentioned. He met some people registered as partners or board members of the companies, as well as their relatives. Still shots of the houses – most of them in dilapidated condition – and of the MP with those people were also shown during the broadcast of the debate.
Vilas said he found many of the persons registered as top executives of the companies lived in houses in poor condition, although the products their firms supplied to state agencies were worth between Bt100 million and Bt500 million. He also found that those people were in their 20s and, according to their relatives he met, actually earned their living as handymen, mechanics, or product presenters (known as “pretties”).
The MP said some of the people he met told him they were unaware their names were used as company executives or partners. They merely rented their houses to some individuals who later registered their addresses as the companies’ head offices.
Some government MPs rose to protest against the Democrat MPs. Rangsima was accused of asking the community leaders “leading questions”, and Vilas was accused of one-sidedly defaming those companies he mentioned by name.
