#ThaiCaveRescue: The Chiang Rai Governor, A Hero, Is Being "Punished" For His Honesty
He was the governor of Chiang Rai.
By Jia Vern Tham — 12 Jul 2018, 03:42 PM
Narongsak Osatanakorn, the most prominent face of the successful Thai cave rescue mission, used to be the governor of Chiang Rai
Narongsak, who was the supervisor of the rescue mission, has been "transferred" to a smaller province, Phayao, according to Khaosod English. He had left his governor job on 6 July, but was allowed to stay on as the rescue leader after Thais appealed to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to keep him on the post until the end of the operation.
New York Post reported that Narongsak, who rose to international fame with his informative press conferences on the rescue mission, was swapped with Prachon Pratsakun, the former governor of Phayao.
With double degrees in geology and engineering, it was Narongsak's "assertive and effective" qualities in both the rescue mission and his day job that "angered" the military junta
Narongsak had a perfect one-year record as Chiang Rai's governor, according to The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). He was law-abiding, exposed budget flaws in national projects, and called attention to island ownership disputes and questionably expensive artworks.
In his brief tenure, Narongsak found out that 60% of the official budget meant for some projects in his province were nowhere to be seen.
Furthermore, there is an AUD12 million (approximately RM35.8 million) waste management centre and incinerator in Narongsak's province that may not even function.
Hence, Narongsak's record was seen as "annoying" to the ruling junta prior to his "relegation".
According to New York Post, although the junta stressed that Narongsak's move was an annual "routine shuffling of officials", critics have insisted that the former governor was punished for not approving allegedly shady construction projects.
Narongsak was ordered to start packing his bags in April. However, his "transfer" was only made public last week.
Although many Thais have been left wondering why a man like Narongsak was "transferred" out of Chiang Rai, the former governor has not commented much on his fate. He remained proud of his record and encouraged his colleagues to continue their efforts.
"I love Chiang Rai... I love everyone," Narongsak wrote, right before he left a group chat with his colleagues.