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Published on March 28, 2008

Prime Minister's Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair is going on a witch-hunt. After having sacked the director-general of the Public Relations Department as his first order of business, he then went over to the state-controlled TV Channel 11 to give it a pat on the back. Channel 11 has been transformed into "Modern Eleven" almost overnight. Its news gathering and presentation will be beefed up. But it is doubtful whether the change of name at Channel 11 will be accompanied by programmes of substance in such a brief time. Now Jakrapob is turning his eye toward Wasant Paileeklee, the director of MCOT Plc.

In the public eye, Jakrapob is crossing the line of appropriateness, if not legality. Out of the blue, he has threatened to sack Wasant, who was brought over to MCOT during the Surayud government. He has accused Wasant of being responsible for the poor financial performance of MCOT. Jakrapob is now planning to put his own people on the board of MCOT so that, in turn, it will apply pressure for Wasant to quit. This is expected to happen some time in April.

But wait a minute. Jakrapob is acting as if he owns the whole world. Just because Wasant isn't one of his people, does not mean he can treat Wasant like his maid

Jakrapob's quick mouth, however, has led the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether he revealed sensitive MCOT financial information to the public in January without due cause. We all know that January was the mourning period for HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana. Most entertainment programmes in the country were cancelled at that time. MCOT was affected. So were all other media organisations.

Wasant's performance at MCOT should be based on both qualitative and quantitative results. It is the duty of the MCOT  board - not the minister in charge - to judge Wasant's performance. By the way, MCOT has already been "corporatised". The organisation is not only owned by the state but also by general shareholders. As a corporation, MCOT has gone through a transformation since Mingkwan Saengsuwan, now the commerce minister, was at the helm. It has put in place a system to evaluate the performance of its executives.

If Wasant had done a poor job at MCOT, it should be the job of  MCOT's board to take action. And don't worry; the financial markets would also be among the first to cry out because MCOT's stocks are listed on the stock market.

Yet so far there has not been any complaint about Wasant's performance at all from other quarters. MCOT's board has twice evaluated Wasant's performance and given him a rather high score. Moreover, most securities analysts have recommended a buy on MCOT's stocks.

So, should Jakrapob rock the boat while MCOT seems to be doing all right? By threatening to remove Wasant, Jakrapob has created uncertainty around MCOT as a whole. This does not bode well for the morale of the staff and also the shareholders. MCOT's business could be affected because outsiders might think twice before striking a deal with the organisation, whose leadership is hanging in the balance.

If indeed Wasant is to be removed, we can expect him to call for justice against Jakrapob in court. So who will be Jakrapob's next target in his witch-hunt? He can't carry on as a loose canon.

The Nation