Cabinet ministers have indeed resigned in the past
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Re: "With Somkid, Prayut takes an unprecedented gamble", Editorial, August 30.
Your editorial on Saturday stated that “[unlike South Korea and Canada], not a single Thai minister has ever resigned his post to take responsibility for a blunder occurring under his jurisdiction”.
Allow me to refresh your memory. Your newspaper correctly reported on February 3, 2009, the resignation of Witoon Nambutr from the Abhisit Vejjajiva Cabinet to allow investigation into the accusation of the distribution of substandard relief supplies to flood victims.
Your newspaper also correctly reported on December 30, 2009, the resignation of Wittaya Kaewparadai, also from the Abhisit administration, to allow investigation to take place into the accusation of his involvement in allegedly corrupt procurement plans at the Health Ministry.
It should be noted that investigations by agencies found no evidence of wrongdoing. So perhaps you are right, for they did not resign “to take responsibility for a blunder”. They merely resigned to protect the administration in which they served, and to allow their names to be cleared to prove that no blunder or corruption took place.
Please be careful not to fall into the all-too fashionable and intellectually lazy habit of painting all politicians with the same brush. Will you issue a correction?
Korn Chatikavanij
EDITOR’S NOTE: The correction is duly noted and The Nation
apologises for its misstatement.
