A whole of 9 executives have applied for the position of secretary-general on the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). Seven individuals submitted their purposes in the course of the initial utility interval running from March 20 to April 7, with an additional two making use of in the course of the extended interval, concluding May 7.
According to Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, NBTC chairman, the brand new secretary-general might be introduced by June 15. Among the first group of candidates had been Pakorn Apaphant, govt director and member of the executive board of Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, Trairat Viriyasirikul, the acting secretary-general of NBTC, and Kittisak Sriprasert, former president of CAT Telecom. The other 4 candidates inside the initial group include Thanatmet Phatnarongrat, a member of NBTC’s Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, scholar Pisit Boonsrimuang, Dr Polawat Witoolkollachit, former chair of the KTB Computer Services board, and Surangkana Wayuparb, former CEO of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency.
Those applying through the extended software period have been Sutisak Tantayotin, the deputy secretary-general of NBTC, and Peerakan Kaewwongwattana, CEO of Airport Rail Link.
Cash , requesting anonymity, revealed that Pakorn and Kittisak showed the most potential amongst external candidates, while Trairat appeared finest qualified among inside applicants for the position.
Speculation has arisen throughout the commission that Pakorn might have been personally invited by the chairman to apply for the position. Despite some commissioners expressing dissent, Dr Sarana maintains that his selection technique for recruiting a new secretary-general follows NBTC rules and his level of authority and duty. The chairman’s plan entails proposing his chosen candidate to other NBTC commissioners for their consideration and approval.
Doubts persist among some commissioners over the compliance of this selection method with NBTC’s laws and regulations. Dr Sarana cited Section sixty one of the NBTC Act that states the chairperson can appoint the secretary-general with the consent of the NBTC board. Dr Sarana reasoned that the secretary-general must work intently with him, rendering it impractical if commissioners jointly select a candidate without his prior approval.
Some commissioners also expressed concern over whether or not the chosen candidate can achieve approval from a majority of the NBTC’s board, now at a full complement of seven members. It is suggested that some commissioners might not endorse the appointment. Commissioners objecting to the recruitment method anonymously said the process could be seen as legally invalid because it by no means gained the board’s formal approval.
On March 7, the NBTC board held a meeting to prepare an agenda for choosing the subsequent secretary-general. During this assembly, a variety method was separately proposed, however just for their acknowledgement, which shocked some commissioners who expected to think about both candidate qualifications and the selection process in the same meeting.
Three commissioners current on the meeting – Dr Sarana, Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, and Torpong Selanon – voted in favour of solely considering the draft of candidate qualifications rather than both qualifications and the selection methodology. The other three commissioners chose not to vote on the matter. As chairman, Dr Sarana cast a tiebreaking vote, leading to a 4-3 resolution..