"Rome" revealed that the committee obtained new information concerning the local examination inquiry. He noted that a 2024 meeting document includes the name "Anutin" and that the committee is preparing to compile evidence. He emphasized that if the investigation ends only with civil servants, it would be equivalent to "cutting off political accountability." — Tags: [local government, examination corruption, political accountability, Anutin Charnvirakul]
On 6 August 2026 at the Parliament building, the House Committee on Law, Justice, and Human Rights convened to consider cases of corruption in the recruitment of local government officials during 2024-2026. After the meeting, Rangsiman Rome, a party-list MP from the Prachachon Party and chair of the committee, said the session provided important new information. He observed that the problem goes beyond the exam process itself to include suspicions about the cancellation of Burapha University's hiring results, as the university was originally the exam winner.
Previously, executives from the Department of Local Administration Promotion held a meeting to find ways to cancel Burapha University's selection results, citing complaints that the university was involved in exam corruption. However, to date, no one has been able to explain the factual basis of these complaints, raising questions about the outcome.
Rangsiman added that after Burapha University was removed from the contract, the subsequent exam faced even more severe corruption issues. This raises doubts about whether the cancellation of the original winner's results was made with pure intentions. Moreover, the committee received documents including a letter inquiring with the Comptroller General's Department referencing a meeting on 17 January 2024 that mentioned Anutin Charnvirakul, who was then Deputy Prime Minister.
The document indicates attempts to push Burapha University out of receiving the contract. Furthermore, a Burapha University representative who provided information to the committee today described several suspicious behaviors and believes the problem may extend beyond civil servants to the political policy level. Nonetheless, it is still unclear to what extent Anutin is involved, but Rangsiman stressed the need for further investigation.
When asked if there were others involved besides the former director-general of the Department of Local Administration Promotion, who is currently facing charges, Rangsiman said the committee’s information shows that those playing roles in canceling Burapha University's winning results are not limited to that former director-general. There are other high-level individuals involved, especially Naritsara, who signed a letter to the Comptroller General's Department citing the meeting chaired by Anutin. This suggests more participants in the case than those currently charged.
Additionally, the Burapha University representative informed the committee that there were attempts to pressure the university to act or not act in certain ways. They also confirmed that bribes were demanded through intermediaries. However, the informant did not disclose the names of those individuals but indicated that the number of involved parties may exceed the main culprits known to the public so far.
Rangsiman further stated that the committee will now compile all the information to determine the direction of further investigation. He noted that today's facts suggest the local exam corruption may have begun while Anutin was Deputy Prime Minister.
“The key question going forward is to what extent Anutin Charnvirakul was aware of or involved in this local exam corruption. It cannot be denied that after Burapha University was cut out, a saga of exam corruption followed. The question is how much the political side knew about what was happening,” Rangsiman said, concluding with the remark.
The documents and testimonies received today also point to a senior official’s role in ordering the cancellation of Burapha University's winning exam results. However, this individual has not yet been summoned to explain to the committee nor charged or issued a warrant.