High ranking military officer as Thai PBS director

With three candidates for the post, Thai PBS has chosen a high ranking military officer as a new director.

On Friday, 29 July 2016, the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) announced that the organisation has selected Lt Col Naravit Pao-in as the new Director of Administration and Finance.

Lt Col Narawit formerly served as Deputy Director of Administration of the Market Organization under the Ministry of Interior, Director of the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and officer in the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).

Thai PBS announced the vacancy for the post on 26 May 2016.

Two other candidates for the post were Paween Naramatkul and Wuthichai Sonhinlat.

Wuthichai is a former Director of Finance of iTV, the predecessor of Thai PBS, while Paween is a Deputy Director of the National Institute of Emergency Medicine.

Earlier in April, Thai PBS workers filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court of Bangkok against the Thai PBS Board over its decision to appoint Krissada Ruangareerat as director.

Krissada, a dentist, became a director of Thai PBS in January this year. Prior to his appointment, he was manager of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth).  

In a lawsuit against Narong Petprasert, head of the Thai PBS Board and six others tasked with the selection of the new director, the group argued that the selection process breached the 2008 Thai PBS Act.

They said that under the Act, the director must possess knowledge of mass media and related fields.

The group urged the court to nullify the appointment of Krissada, reasoning that it was crucial for a director of the Thai PBS to have experience and vision in the field of media because it is important for the public interest.

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