NLA moves NBTC appointments forward

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is moving the timeline to recruit a new board for the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) ahead by two weeks.

According to a high-ranking source at the NBTC, the NLA office set a new schedule to call the 14 final candidates to make their case for board membership on April 4 and 5, two weeks earlier than by the previous agenda.

The move is likely to ensure that NLA members complete the recruitment process and vote to select only seven of the 14 final candidates, the source said.

Hastening the voting process may create inconveniences for some candidates if they are technically disqualified, especially in the case of conflicts of interest related to broadcasting and telecom business.

Under the recruitment conditions based on the NBTC Act, candidates must not be an executive or board director for a telecom or broadcasting business.

If they have been in such a position, they must have resigned from their position at least one year ago.

The NBTC source said some candidates may be disqualified because of the agenda change, as the period of one full year since resignation is calculated from the date of resignation until the date the new NBTC is voted upon by the NLA.

The acting NBTC board’s six-year working term expired in October 2017.

The new NBTC Act, effective in June 2017, states that the government must recruit a new NBTC board to replace the existing one.

The act requires only seven commissioners to govern both the telecom and broadcasting industries, oversee spectrum auctions and manage satellite spectrum.

The old NBTC law saw the 11 commissioners divided into two committees — telecom and broadcasting — each with five commissioners, and the NBTC chairman sitting on both committees.

The NLA started recruiting candidates for the new NBTC board at the beginning of this year.

There were 86 applicants for the seven positions.

Each candidate was compelled to choose one out of seven fields to apply for: radio broadcasting, TV, telecom, engineering, law, economics and consumer protection.

Of the 86 applicants, nine applied for radio broadcasting, nine for TV, 12 for telecom, 11 for engineering, 18 for law, nine for economics and 18 for consumer protection.

Last month, the NLA office announced 14 final candidates — two in each category.

The final 14 candidates include Korkij Danchaivichit, deputy secretary-general of NBTC for the field of law, and Thanapant Raicharoen, another NBTC deputy secretary-general who is a candidate for the engineering field.

AVM Thanapant is working for regional and spectrum management.

In a related development, the source said NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith is considering whether he should resign when the new NBTC board is officially appointed or continue his working term until 2021.

Mr Takorn, 57, is in his second term as secretary-general, with each term being five years long. The existing NBTC board on Jan 4, 2017 extended his tenure to a second term, starting from Jan 4, 2016.

Under the NBTC Act, the position cannot be extended for a third term.

Should Mr Takorn resign before his working term ends and the new board not veto his resignation, he would leave his position.

On the other hand, if he does not resign, he can keep working until 2020.

“As an independent agency, the NBTC board and secretary-general have separate functions,” the NBTC source said.

The source said Mr Takorn is closely monitoring the NLA’s decision, because if most of the seven future members of the NBTC board are familiar with him, he may be able to continue in his job.

If not, he may submit his resignation letter to the new board, the source said.

Previously, Mr Takorn was one of seven candidates nominated for the new Election Commission, and he planned to resign from his post at the NBTC if approved.

Last month, however, the NLA rejected all seven candidates, with all of them receiving less than the required minimum of 125 out of 248 votes.