The Economic Party shakes up the Democracy Monument as Chris Potranan reveals the "Ah Kong Regime" scheme, exposing a network that sells district director positions for a million baht each.
On 6 June 2026, Mr. Chris Potranan, a party-list MP from the Economic Party, together with Pol. Lt. Gen. Chanthep Sesawet, a candidate for Bangkok governor, held an important press conference. They unveiled a blueprint of a network of vested interests infiltrating every part of Bangkok's administration, dubbed the "Ah Kong Regime." This system profits through state budgets, events, and position transfers. They also directly questioned Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, the former Bangkok governor and the highest authority at the time, on how he allowed such structural corruption to occur.
Mr. Chris disclosed that the core of this network is driven by a group of senior political officials who have the power to appoint close associates and individuals with the code “Pr.” into key roles. There are allegations that assistant district directors seeking promotion had to negotiate profits and pay bribes of up to millions of baht at a safe house in the Suthisan area. Once these individuals became district directors, they allegedly recouped their investments through four main departments within the district offices: the municipal affairs division, which extorts sidewalk fees from Thai vendors while allowing foreigners to exploit the system; the sanitation division, which illegally uses government vehicles and equipment for private tree-cutting jobs; the public works division, implicated in recorded bribery linked to permit approvals. The party has opened a hotline at 02-055-6765 to receive further complaints from the public.
Economic Party leaders also presented a timeline exposing the appointment process from 2025 to 2026, highlighting suspiciously rapid promotions that led to complaints filed with the Bangkok Civil Service Moral Protection Committee (B.C.S.M.P.C.). Subsequently, the committee ruled to cancel the selection criteria due to severe violations of integrity. Nevertheless, political actors circumvented this by having Mr. Chadchart sign an order to cancel the committee’s decision and transfer the problematic 17 officials to the Office of the Permanent Secretary. On the same day, they issued another order assigning the same group to act as district directors in their original districts, effectively retaining control. When a new recruitment was held on 30 April, the results unsurprisingly returned the same group to their original district director seats. Mr. Chadchart resigned as Bangkok governor on 18 May.
Mr. Chris concluded by saying that although he believes Mr. Chadchart might not have been aware of all the details concerning the under-the-table payments, he cannot evade responsibility as the organizational leader who allowed close associates to exploit his name and influence for personal gain, causing hardship to honest officials and the public. He proposed a structural solution urging Bangkok authorities to fully disclose all data on appointments, transfers, and promotions publicly to ensure transparency. He also called on Bangkok residents to vigilantly monitor and dismantle the "Ah Kong Regime" at the upcoming Bangkok governor election scheduled for 28 June.