Paetongtarn silent on Bhumjaithai’s censure move and Hun Sen’s leadership forecast
PM Paetongtarn remains silent on Bhumjaithai’s planned censure motion and Hun Sen’s prediction of a leadership change in Thailand within three months.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declined to comment on Wednesday when asked about the Bhumjaithai Party’s upcoming censure motion and a recent Facebook post by Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, in which he predicted that Thailand would have a new Prime Minister within the next three months.
The questions were raised during her visit to the ASEAN Coast Guard Forum 2025 and a joint search-and-rescue drill in Pattaya, Chonburi Province, where she simply smiled at reporters and left without answering.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong, who also serves as Minister of Digital Economy and Society, dismissed Hun Sen’s remarks as politically motivated and lacking in factual basis. “The government is stable and still holds a sufficient majority,” he said, adding that any suggestion of foreign interference would have to be evaluated by the relevant authorities.
Responding to recent criticism from Cambodia’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Chea Vandet—who accused Thailand of being a hub for transnational crime—Prasert countered that international and Thai intelligence reports consistently identify Cambodia as the real base of call-centre scams, particularly in Poipet.
When asked if these accusations have affected tourism, Prasert refuted claims that Chinese visitor numbers to Cambodia are falling due to Thai statements, asserting instead that Chinese tourists share such concerns among themselves and that Thailand plays no role.
Regarding the possibility of border checkpoints reopening on June 24–25, Prasert declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of security matters. He noted that security officials are monitoring the situation closely and that his ministry has been tasked with investigating mule accounts used by call-centre gangs. He confirmed there had been unusually high levels of cash withdrawals at border checkpoints in Sa Kaeo, which are now under investigation.
Prasert emphasised that although the criminal methods remain largely unchanged—particularly the shift from wire transfers to cash withdrawals—the government is taking steps to disrupt these operations, with observable reductions in online fraud activity since stricter border controls were implemented earlier this month.
