The Centre for National Anti-Corruption (CNAC) will seek to invoke Section 44 under the interim constitution to disclose the names of corrupt officials within 30 days, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya said yesterday.
Speaking after chairing a CNAC meeting yesterday, Gen Paiboon said Section 44 will be exercised in a bid to speed up disclosure of the names of graft-tainted officials in state agencies within 30 days.
He will also order the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Auditor-General to complete the examination of the name list within the time frame, Gen Paiboon said.
The move was in response to the National Council for Peace and Order's (NCPO) instruction for the CNAC, chaired by Gen Paiboon, to expedite the review of the conduct of government officials who may have a hand in corrupt practices, particularly gambling and human trafficking.
Gen Paiboon said the NCPO also assigned the centre to perform as a coordinator representing the government to work with relevant anti-corruption agencies to speed up efforts to lay the foundations of the country's prevention and suppression of corruption in the next year of the government's remaining time in office before the next election.
"After the NACC proposes anti-corruption strategies to the centre, more meetings will be held to follow up on the operations because the prime minister views the CNAC as a key agency in combatting the country's corruption," he said.
Besides, the justice minister also voiced his concerns on social media over the names of 19 lese majeste suspects and the seven embassies they had fled to, saying it could harm relations between Thailand and those countries.
Gen Paiboon's comment came after he said on Tuesday he would send a letter to those foreign embassies, asking for their cooperation to process the requests to extradite the lese majeste suspects.
He also ordered the Department of Special Investigation to compile a list of suspects living overseas after a recent surge of photos and posts in social media deemed defamatory to the royal family in violation of the lese majeste law.
"Attitude adjustment can't be done through legal means, but by creating better understanding," he said.
Gen Paiboon said the investigation found suspects who shared inappropriate content and photos had often committed similar offences in the past.