Lawmaker Blasts Feudal Culture at Interior Ministry
A Pheu Thai MP criticized feudalistic culture at Thailand's Interior Ministry during budget debate, displaying a photo of a senior official bowing to Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul as evidence of the problematic hierarchy.
On September 9, 2024, the House of Representatives convened to consider the 2570 fiscal-year budget bill worth 3.78 trillion baht in its second and third readings, following the special committee's review. At 14:22, Adisorn Piangketkul, a Pheu Thai list MP, debated Article 20 on the Interior Ministry's administration, emphasizing that governing the nation, managing people, and conducting business must be aligned. He supported the budget reduction to enable the ministry to move forward and serve the public good.
However, he questioned whether the committee had discussed whether the Interior Ministry operates efficiently or sluggishly, and whether it is managed with integrity or through feudalistic patronage. Adisorn then presented a blurred photograph of a senior Interior Ministry official bowing on bent knees to Anutin Charnvirakul in front of Government House, displaying it on screen.
Adisorn stated he was deeply troubled by the image, questioning whether this reflects the civil service tradition of the Interior Ministry. He said that seeing such subservience left him hopeless about the ministry's future, regardless of leadership changes. He criticized the practice as harmful to national governance, recounting an anecdote about a former politician who served so long at the Interior Ministry that when removed from ministerial office, he could not exit the parliamentary building because no one would open the door for him—a reflection of the feudalistic culture the ministry had cultivated.
Adisorn concluded by apologizing to civil servants and the Prime Minister, but declared that feudalistic hierarchies and sycophantic behavior must be eliminated from the Interior Ministry and Thailand. He stated he could not evaluate the budget reduction fairly as it is fundamentally an ethical issue, and expressed hope that such imagery would not recur. He vowed that if he becomes Interior Minister, he will not appoint anyone to the permanent secretary position who exhibits such behavior.
