Former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and five ex-ministerial officials involved in the fraudulent government-to-government (G2G) rice sales have been ordered to pay 20 billion baht in compensation.
Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn authorised the ministry's permanent secretary Chutima Bunyapraphasara to sign an administrative order demanding the payment.
But doubt has been cast over whether Ms Chutima is willing to sign the order and her expected successor, Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa, has also expressed doubt.
The move has drawn harsh criticism from former Democrat MP for Phitsanulok Warong Dejkitvikrom, who said Ms Apiradi "does not have the guts" to sign the order by herself, so she should not continue holding the ministerial position.
Ms Apiradi, who was authorised by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to sign the order on his behalf, said yesterday she ordered Ms Chutima to sign it, adding the premier had allowed her to do so.
"I must say that I am not a politician. I perform my duties in parts that I have expertise and I work impartially," Ms Apiradi said. "There are a lot of details and complexity in this issue and time is needed to work on it thoroughly. I have no intention to bully or punish anyone. Everything goes in line with the fact."
Ms Apiradi said after the permanent secretary signs the order, the legal affairs unit will send the orders to Mr Boonsong and five others, who have 30 days to accept or lodge an appeal with the Administrative Court. If there is no response, another letters will be sent to re-notify the six, who have 15 more days to respond. If they still neglect to respond, the Legal Execution Department (LED) will be informed to seize their assets.
Ms Apiradi earlier insisted the process of seeking compensation will be done before the case's statute of limitations expires in February next year.
Ms Chutima earlier said she had not signed the order as she was waiting for authorisation. She has until the end of this month to sign the order before she is due to be replaced by Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa, director-general of the Internal Trade Department on Oct 1.
Meanwhile, Ms Wiboonlasana yesterday made it clear she will not be too quick to sign the order if she is required to do so.
"If I have got to sign the order seeking the compensation, this must be reasonable and explainable," Ms Wiboonlasana said. "Signing anything requires thorough consideration."
She expressed confidence that the incumbent permanent secretary who has been well aware of the case would be able to take care of the issue.
A ministerial source said Ms Wiboonlasana told her associates that she had no knowledge about the order and she must study it carefully. If she is coerced unreasonably to sign it after taking up the permanent secretary position, she may decide to step down, the source added.
Dr Warong, who earlier led a House debate on the rice scheme, said Ms Apiradi's decision to let the permanent secretary sign the order instead of herself shows she lacks leadership and courage.
"It would be disgraceful for this commerce minister to continue in office," Dr Warong said. "During this period where national reforms and graft suppression are needed, brave people are needed to make things right. Despite being protected by Section 44 of the interim charter, she still does not have the guts."
He said the government should bring in people with spirit of political responsibility to work on this position.
"If the prime minister still keeps Ms Apiradi in the position despite having no courage to shoulder responsibility, the government would be hindered and eventually be in difficult situations," he said.
Last month, a government panel, led by Jirachai Moonthongroy, deputy permanent secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, reported Ms Yingluck will have to be fined 286.6 billion baht in compensation for losses incurred by her government's rice-pledging scheme.
The report of such liability was sent to a committee on civil liability, chaired by Comptroller-General Manas Jamveha, which later cut it to 35.71 billion baht, Dr Warong said.
The official figure for Ms Yingluck's liability is expected to be revealed in coming days.
Dr Warong said Mr Manas's panel decided to reduce damages happening with rice subsidy programmes from five to three harvesting seasons, which subsequently brought down the compensation to 178 billion baht. Ms Yingluck will be held liable for only 20% of the amount.