Reinstate Piyasvasti
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Thai International's board has the authority to hire/fire anybody they want, but as a listed company, the directors are accountable to the nation as a whole, as the Finance Ministry is the majority shareholder.
The reason the board gave for booting out Piyasvasti Amranand, was that he “had communication problems with the board”, which was completely unconvincing. The board admitted Piyasvasti passed its evaluation, and that under his leadership THAI reversed its large losses into profit; does this sound like someone unable to communicate with the board?
Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan said Piyasvasti held that since the previous Cabinet approved the multi-billion baht deal for THAI aircraft, the contract did not have to be approved by the current Cabinet. That logic holds, otherwise, every agreement made by a given government would have to be renegotiated every time there was a change in administration, including every treaty. PM Yingluck should know when she or her predecessors sign off on anything, they represent the nation, not any individual. Since the present board feels the deal must have Yingluck’s approval, they should clarify why, and ask the courts to rule on the issue – not fire the president.
Also, THAI has made national police chief Priewpan Damapong a vice chairman of the board and an audit committee member. What is his expertise in aviation or auditing? Who says political interference is over at THAI? Please reinstate Piyasvasti.
Burin Kantabutra
