Big brother snaps back
As the scandal over the luxury watches worn by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon unfolds, his supporters have been struggling to work out “damage control” measures to salvage his reputation, albeit to little avail, according to a source close to the matter.
His close associates have worked with some media outlets to present the “other side” of the story to counter a barrage of criticism from opponents, the source said.
The scandal first broke when the deputy prime minister was seen wearing a ring studded with a large diamond on his finger, as well as a platinum Richard Mille RM 029 with a value of about 2.5 million baht during a group photo session for newly sworn-in cabinet ministers at Government House late last year.
Gen Prawit raised his right hand on which he wore the items to shield his face from the sun during the event and the pictures then went viral amid questions about whether he had declared the expensive assets.
The pictures soon landed the regime’s “big brother” in hot water as he was asked by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to explain how the assets were acquired.
Gen Prawit’s luxury trinkets caught the attention of the NACC after suspicions emerged he had failed to report them in his declaration of assets and liabilities as required by the anti-graft agency.
The source said his close aides had to step in and spread information to both the mainstream and social media that Gen Prawit actually inherited the diamond ring from his mother and the luxury watch belonged to a businessman friend who had lent it to him to wear.
But his close aides seemed to underestimate the group of social network “super sleuths” and this rebuttal only ignited their curiosity to dig deeper and keep the scandal alive, the source said.
Some well-intentioned people advised Gen Prawit to keep silent over the matter when asked by reporters and let the NACC do its job. The anti-graft agency has said that it has been “looking into the case” but critics claim the agency has been deliberately stalling in finding answers.
In a latest desperate bid to clear his name, Gen Prawit broke his silence over the watch scandal recently and claimed all the luxury time pieces belonged to friends and he only wore them infrequently, before threatening to resign from the cabinet if the national graft-busting agency decides there are sufficient grounds to pursue a case against him.
The watches have since been returned to their owners, Gen Prawit said.
Observers noted that Gen Prawit may end up becoming the government’s Achilles heel, vulnerable to attacks from opponents.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said earlier that Gen Prayut should speak up and explain the matter. Mr Abhisit said that while he was prime minister, two of his cabinet members were embroiled in legal cases stemming from allegations of abuse of power. The two ministers resigned before the cases were concluded. One minister said he did not wish to be a “burden” on the government.
When the wristwatch scandal first emerged, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha readily defended Gen Prawit. However, the premier has remained silent after many more expensive timepieces were exposed.