Irate Prawit threatens to resign
Says all 24 watches ‘belong to friends’
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon explained his collection of 24 luxury watches yesterday by claiming they all belong to friends of his, and threatened to resign from the cabinet if the national graftbusting agency decides there are sufficient grounds to pursue a case against him.
The nation’s No.2 politician has for weeks been embroiled in a scandal over how he obtained so many expensive timepieces, and other jewellery, on the salary of a military man, and why he failed to include them in his declared assets.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has been looking into the case but critics claim the agency has been deliberately stalling in finding answers.
Yesterday’s outburst by Gen Prawit marks the first time he has clarified where the watches came from after a group of perceived “super sleuths” who contribute to the CSI LA Facebook account, which is hugely popular in Thailand, claim to have spotted 24 pricey wristwatches on his person.
The group yesterday posted a photo of Gen Prawit wearing yet another luxury watch, identified it as a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona IVORY DIAL worth an estimated 1 million baht (US$31,270).
The photo is said to have been taken on Dec 2, 2015 when Gen Prawit met the director of the Thai Red Cross Aids Research Centre and a group of actors and artists at Government House for the launch of a campaign to mark World Aids Day.
Gen Prawit told reporters at Government House yesterday that he had borrowed the watches and only wore them occasionally, insisting he is not a collector.
They all belong to his friends and have since been returned, he claimed.
He refused to disclose how many watches he owns and threatened to resign if the NACC concludes he has committed any wrongdoing.
NACC secretary-general Worawit Sukboon said earlier the case was not complicated and the NACC should wrap up its investigation by the end of this month or shortly thereafter.
Gen Prawit has taken flak since pictures started circulating online of him wearing various luxury watches at public functions. None were included in the declared assets he submitted recently to the NACC.
Attention has subsequently focussed on NACC president Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, a former subordinate of Gen Prawit’s.
Critics contend this renders the investigation a sham due to the power of such connections in Thai politics.
Pol Gen Watcharapol earlier dismissed worries about this and guaranteed a “clean” investigation would he conducted.
He added that in any case it was beyond his power to influence the decisions made by the other eight NACC members.
Gen Prawit has vowed not to interfere with the investigation.
Nonetheless, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has warned Prime Minister Prayut Cha-o-cha that the scandal surrounding his deputy could hurt his credibility or hinder his chances of returning after the next election.
Gen Prayut said yesterday that Gen Prawit will explain the matter himself. The NACC is probing the matter and politicians should not exploit the issue to suit their own agendas, he added.
Meanwhile, unforgiving netizens have blasted Gen Prawit for what some have dubbed a “lame” excuse that all the watches belonged to his friends.
“Ridiculously, the deputy prime minister has to borrow watches from his friends to wear. Isn’t this too easy for him to say?” posted one.
Calls have been growing that he reveal all the names of his friends who allegedly lent him their wristwatches.
Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, said he was stunned by Gen Prawit’s remarks.
But getting to the heart of the matter rests on the shoulders of the NACC, which must forward the case to prosecutors if doubts remain, he added.
“There are pictures seen by the public that show Gen Prawit wearing over 20 luxury watches, and the case has been submitted to the NACC,” he said.
“The NACC must summon witnesses and seek the truth about who lent them to him, where they bought them, how they afforded them and whether they paid their taxes.
“If there is any doubt, the case must be forwarded to the attorney-general and the anti-corruption court,” he added.
Mr Mana said if the NACC is seen as prevaricating, members of the public or civic groups may file a complaint against it for dereliction of duty.
Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Thai Constitution Protection Association, said Gen Prawit should resign from the cabinet.
“The public has already passed judgement on this case. If you insist on staying on, this will only hurt the image of Gen Prayut and the government,” he said.
If the NACC takes Gen Prawit’s remarks at face value then it serves no purpose and should be disbanded, he added.
But if it can prove his innocence it will earn the public’s respect for acting transparently, he suggested.
From what started as the unveiling of an undeclared Richard Mille, the luxury wristwatch scandal embroiling Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has turned into a saga of a seemingly endless list of undeclared timepieces.
As of press time yesterday, the CSI LA Facebook page had just posted a picture of him wearing his 24th undeclared watch — a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona worth about one million baht.
With 24 watches exposed in less than two months, many believe there could be more to follow from the social media page and all are unlikely to have been included in Gen Prawit’s asset declarations to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), as required by law.
If this kind of scandal happened to any member of an elected government, that person would have already been grilled fiercely in parliament and, I believe, such a person would definitely have been ousted.
But, under the current military regime, Gen Prawit hasn’t faced such pressure and continues to serve as deputy premier and defence minister. The regime’s inaction toward this scandal seems to be in direct opposition to the reasons it gave for its military coup in 2014 — to push for political reform and to promote morality, ethics and good governance in Thai politics.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has always told the public not to compromise with corruption and urged Thais not to vote “bad people” into power.
For several groups of people who welcomed the coup, they believed it could offer a means to bring about positive changes. As a result, they expect the coup-installed government to have standards of morality, ethics and governance higher than those of previous elected governments. But the military government has so far failed them in terms of its inaction towards the luxury watch scandal.
Gen Prawit himself insisted he has never been corrupt. He also said he didn’t have to explain the issue to the media. That means he thinks it is unnecessary to explain this scandal to the public.
True, there hasn’t been any evidence uncovered so far to prove that he has been involved in corruption. However, after the string of exposures of his 24 seemingly undeclared luxury watches, with a combined value of almost 40 million baht, hasn’t the scandal become controversial enough for him to show his political spirit and step down?
Gen Prawit said yesterday he would step down only if the NACC ruled that he is guilty. For now, he has shamefully refused to quit while the anti-graft agency’s investigation is ongoing, saying “no one” should interfere in the case.
Earlier, the deputy prime minister submitted his written explanation to the NACC to clarify the first 15 luxury watches which were spotted on his wrist. The anti-graft agency revealed that it would question four individuals whom Gen Prawit mentioned in his account.
For the first time, Gen Prawit himself yesterday said all of the watches in question belong to friends who lent them to him and they have since been returned.
But, as the number of undeclared watches jumps to 24 and looks likely to grow further, I wonder how many more friends Gen Prawit will have to refer to as owners of the timepieces? And what kind of person would borrow so many luxury watches from friends?
The NACC, led by its president Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, a former subordinate of Gen Prawit, would have to be very naive to believe that all of the luxury watches (and possibly more to come) were lent to Gen Prawit by his friends and then clear him of the allegation of unusual wealth or asset concealment. The public would definitely not buy it.
Prime Minister Prayut has played down the scandal even though it has the potential to undermine his credibility and jeopardise his chances of becoming a non-elected premier after the next general election, tentatively set for November.
Although Gen Prayut has never publicly admitted he has such political ambitions, there have been signs that he’s probably aiming for that goal. Just after the New Year holidays, Gen Prayut said publicly for the first time that he is no longer a soldier but a politician who used to be a soldier.
Then, Gen Prawit, who is the “big brother” of the military regime, came out to endorse Gen Prayut as a potential nonelected prime minister after the election.
Most recently, Gen Prayut insisted that Thailand should be governed under a Thai-style democracy. Without elaborating, he left the public to assume that Thai-style democracy is one in which a prime minister can be a non-elected person and an administration can function under the military’s shadow.
But the watch scandal involving Gen Prawit is risky if Gen Prayut wishes to pursue political goals. He stands to lose support from those who once backed him in taking power. Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda previously said Gen Prayut had nearly run out of support and suggested the prime minister needed to do things to restore trust to prove that he is working in the interests of the country and the public.
The watch scandal makes matters worse, and Gen Prayut risks losing more support due to his inaction on the issue.
Over the past three years, Gen Prayut has repeatedly exercised his special power under Section 44 of the interim charter to suspend many state officials from work after investigations began into allegations of their involvement in corruption or irregularities. But, in the case of Gen Prawit, the prime minister has left the NACC to do the job.
Isn’t this a double standard? Why does this member of his government enjoy immunity from Section 44 when state officials don’t?
Gen Prawit’s scandal is undermining public confidence in Gen Prayut. The prime minister’s inaction towards the case is seen as cronyism, not to mention several other corruption allegations involving members of his regime.
I think the PM is duty-bound to suspend Gen Prawit while the NACC probe remains ongoing. Gen Prayut should treat his “big brother” in the same way he does state officials if he wants to be a successful politician.
I personally believe Gen Prawit will eventually be ousted due to public pressure. But Gen Prayut will be judged on his suitability for the non-elected premier job by how he handles this scandal.
I think the PM is duty-bound to suspend Gen Prawit while the NACC probe remains ongoing.