NACC asked to investigate DES ministry’s ‘TH-AI Passport’ project
Anti-corruption crusader Dr. Warong Dechgitvigrom, the sole MP of the Thai Pakdee party, submitted a petition to the National Anti-Corruption Commission today, seeking an investigation into the Digital Economy and Society Ministry’s ‘TH-AI Passport’ project, claiming that the specifications were rigged in favour of certain bidders.
During a parliamentary meeting on Thursday, Dr. Warong took to the floor to grill DES Minister Chaichanok Chidchob over the 1.6 billion baht project, claiming that the specifications were tailored to favour a few companies which participated in the bidding. His hard-hitting questioning prompted several Bhumjaithai MPs to protest or interrupt the debate.
Dr. Warong told the media that he does not object to the project per se, but has reservations about the bidding process which, he claimed, was rigged.
The project aims to educate and train about five million Thais to be literate in AI technology and to be able to use the technology to improve their studies or career performance.
The terms of reference (TOR), he claimed, were written in a way which gave specific companies an advantage over their competitors. Requiring bidders to advertise the ‘TH-AI Passport’ project on no fewer than 6,000 LED screens in no fewer than 1,500 convenience stores was one such specification.
This suits ‘Plan B’, a media company which currently advertises products in about 2,000 convenience stores. Dr. Warong said that, although the Plan B Company did not take part in the bidding, the winning bidder has a connection with Plan B.
The Thai Pakdee MP also noted that the appendix of the bidding contract allows the TOR to be amended, as he called on the government to do so and call a new round of bidding for the project.
Dr. Warong came to fame by exposing the massive corruption in the Yingluck government’s rice pledging scheme, which led to prolonged street protests against the government and the shutdown of the Government House, culminating in a military coup, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, which toppled the government on May 22, 2014.