Nirat Pongstithaworn clarified in response to Lamphun PAO chief's criticism regarding dismissal orders for officials involved in exam fraud, affirming that the Department of Local Administration and the central committee completed all necessary procedures without shifting responsibility to local authorities. They also provided exam score sheets as evidence and emphasized that no one was forced to sign dismissal orders.
17 Aug 2026 GMT+7 Nirat Pongstithaworn, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, acting as director-general of the Department of Local Administration (DLA), gave an interview at Military Airport 2, Wing 6, Don Mueang, regarding the case involving Veeradej Pupisit, Chief Executive of Lamphun Provincial Administrative Organization, who criticized central orders requiring local executives to sign dismissal letters for officials implicated in exam fraud, calling the directive unclear and accusing the center of shifting the burden solely onto local authorities while avoiding responsibility for its own orders. He said there is no need for such concern because before reaching the provincial stage—where provincial committees notify municipalities, subdistrict administrative organizations, and provincial administrative organizations within their areas—the central authorities, including the DLA and the central committee, have fully completed their procedures. They have verified correct exam scores to compare against alleged fraudulent results and have already sent these documents separately to each province. Although local authorities may not have reached this step yet, they will have access to the relevant information.
Nirat added that each province will hold a provincial committee meeting on Friday, 21 August. Regarding the concerns raised by the Lamphun PAO chief, Nirat understood that Lamphun’s provincial committee had not yet convened and might not have seen the evidence, but the documentation, including score sheets, will be sent. When asked about the Lamphun PAO chief’s claim that senior officials at the DLA pressured local leaders to avoid complaints and to hastily sign dismissals, Nirat exclaimed, “Wow,” before stating “That’s definitely not me. It would have to be someone higher than me if that were true.” He further asserted confidence that no such pressure existed, emphasizing that signing dismissal orders is a serious matter necessary to uphold the integrity of the civil service recruitment system. Forcing anyone to sign prematurely is impossible and improper.