Crunch time for Phumtham

New interior minister, and current acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, is a man who can make tough decisions.

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His recent record includes the decision to return Uyghurs to China early this year, as demanded by Beijing. Last month, he approved a long-delayed, controversial submarine procurement from China — a call that even junta leader-cum-prime minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha shied away from.

True to form, Mr Phumtham started his first week at the ministry by transferring two director-generals at the Department of Provincial Administration and the Department of Local Administration — strategic bodies directly involved with local voters and administration.

Yet, Mr Phumtham will be judged on how he handles two controversial land issues. The first is land encroachment in Kao Kradong; the other is a scandal at the Alpine Golf Course.

Last Monday, Mr Phumtham announced a committee would investigate the longstanding Khao Kradong dispute in Buri Ram province, which involves state-owned land allegedly overlapping property linked to the influential Chidchob family.