Political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana says he will ask the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday to investigate Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s ethical conduct over her shares in Alpine Golf and Sports Club. The company bought a controversial monastic plot in Pathum Thani, now home to the prestigious Alpine Golf Club and a residential complex.
Mr. Ruangkrai announced on Monday his intent to request that the EC scrutinize whether Ms. Paetongtarn violated Section 160 (4) of the constitution, which mandates that cabinet ministers must be manifestly honest, and the ethical guidelines outlined in Section 8. The crux of his concern lies in Ms. Paetongtarn’s recent transfer of shares.
According to Mr. Ruangkrai, Ms. Paetongtarn transferred her shares in the company to her mother, Khunying Potjaman Damapong, on September 3. He presented copies of documents from the Department of Business Development, revealing that the company held a shareholders’ meeting on April 30. During that meeting, Ms. Paetongtarn was listed as holding 22.41 million shares, specifically numbered 5229001-74700000.
However, on September 4, an updated shareholders’ list was sent to the department, disclosing that Khunying Potjaman now held the same number of 22.41 million shares with the identical certificate numbers. This timeline suggests that Ms. Paetongtarn likely transferred the shares to her mother on September 3. The shares in question represent a significant 30% of the company’s total 74,700,000 shares.
Notably, Ms. Paetongtarn was elected as prime minister by the House on August 16 but retained the shares until the transfer on September 3. This detail forms the bedrock of Mr. Ruangkrai’s argument that ethical breaches may have occurred, as the company owns the contentious 444-rai land plot despite the Land Department revoking its registration in 2001.
“Being a shareholder in the company that owns the land whose registration was revoked by the Land Department could be deemed a violation of ethical standards,” Mr. Ruangkrai asserted. He emphasized that he would urge the EC to investigate this issue further and subsequently submit it to the Constitutional Court to determine whether the prime minister should be removed from office over these allegations.
This sounds like a political witch hunt to me. Every politician has some shares somewhere.
It’s more about the ethical standards. If they can’t uphold those, how can we trust them?
Sure, but does it really make a difference? Everyone has skeletons in their closet. Why single her out?
Politicians have always used loopholes to get around ethics. This is just tip of the iceberg!
What about the fact that the land was controversial to begin with? Shouldn’t that be the real issue here?
I think Ruangkrai is doing the right thing. We need more scrutiny on these issues, not less.
Do we, though? It feels like every move a politician makes is under a microscope already.
That’s exactly why we need it. Constant scrutiny keeps them in check.
Don’t you think there are more important issues to focus on? Like healthcare or education?
Why isn’t anyone talking about the land? I mean, it was revoked for a reason, right?
People love to focus on the drama rather than the actual issues. Classic!
Is this really such a big deal? Transferring shares to family isn’t illegal.
It might not be illegal, but it’s definitely shady! Especially in politics.
Shady doesn’t always mean unethical. Sometimes it’s just practical.
This is a perfect example of why politicians need to be 100% transparent with their finances. It’s too easy for them to hide stuff.
Total transparency sounds great in theory, but isn’t it just going to make everything even more complicated?
If they have nothing to hide, why would transparency be an issue? Just saying.
This kind of probe distracts from real governance. Focus on policies, not shares!
Exactly! We have bigger fish to fry, like economic reform.
But governance and ethics are deeply connected. Can’t separate the two.
This smells like a setup to me. The timing is way too convenient.
You think everything is a conspiracy, Rachel. Sometimes things are just what they seem.
And sometimes they aren’t. History has shown us that, Lucas.
It’s ridiculous to expect politicians to have no investments. They are human too.
It’s not about having investments, it’s about the conflict of interest they create.
I don’t trust the investigation. It’s probably biased too. Politics is a dirty game.
She should step down until this is cleared up, just to be safe.
No surprise here. Politicians are always involved in some shady stuff.
I wonder how this will affect her policies. Ethical questions can undermine leadership.
These investigations rarely lead to anything. Just a waste of time.
Transparency is key. We need to know if our leaders are acting in our best interests.
This makes me question her judgment. If she’s hiding shares, what else is she hiding?
What’s the big deal? As long as she’s doing a good job, who cares about shares?
Political integrity is crucial. If we lose that, we lose everything.
I think this will blow over. People will forget in a week.
Politics should be about helping people, not personal gain. Disappointing to see.
Anyone surprised by this hasn’t been paying attention to politics.
I hope this means tighter regulations on what politicians can own and invest in.