NBTC Chairman Faces Disqualification Over Outside Employment

Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck is expected to face a prolonged legal battle after being disqualified from serving as a member and chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), legal experts say. A four-member Senate committee that oversees the selection of NBTC commissioners ruled unanimously on Friday that Dr Sarana lacked the statutory qualifications required to hold office, based on Article 8(2) of the NBTC Act of 2010. The ruling followed a long-running dispute over whether Dr Sarana maintained outside professional roles while serving as an NBTC commissioner. Uncertainty about his status had slowed the work of the regulator, telecom and broadcast industry executives complained. The law requires commissioners to work full-time and prohibits them from holding other paid positions or engaging in occupations that could create direct or indirect conflicts of interest. NBTC commissioners receive a monthly salary and position allowance totalling 360,000 baht. The chairman’s remuneration totals 450,000 baht a month. A renowned cardiologist, Dr Sarana resigned his position as a clinical professor at Mahidol University after the Senate appointed him to the NBTC in December 2021. He was appointed chairman in April 2022. However, the Senate panel was shown evidence that Dr Sarana still held temporary employee status as a physician at Ramathibodi Hospital on hourly compensation from Jan 8 to April 12, 2022. Additional evidence indicated that Dr Sarana held clinic hours at Samitivej Hospital and Rama 9 Hospital, but that information has since been removed from their websites. As well, Dr Sarana was selected as an independent director of Bangkok Bank just one day before his appointment as NBTC chairman, the panel was told. Instead of resigning from the regulator, he requested a delay to seek a legal interpretation from the Council of State, only to withdraw it later. The evidence was submitted to the Senate panel by Dr Supat Hasuwannakit, an outspoken physician who clashed with the Ministry of Public Health when it was headed by Anutin Charnvirakul, now the prime minister. Dr Supat was dismissed from his post as a hospital director in Songkhla in January this year, on grounds that his procurement of Covid-19 antigen test kits during the pandemic did not follow ministry rules. Although the NBTC selection committee’s resolution has altered Dr Sarana’s status, legal experts say the dispute is far from over and is likely to move to the Administrative Court. Wisanu Waranyu, deputy president of the Supreme Administrative Court and secretary of the NBTC selection committee, said the panel concluded Dr Sarana had failed to meet the required qualifications. Dr Sarana had previously challenged the Senate committee’s authority to review his qualifications after his appointment. Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University, said the selection committee had clear legal authority to review commissioners’ qualifications. Source: Bangkok Post