The university student who exposed nationwide embezzlement in the distribution of financial aid for the destitute has accepted the offer of a job at the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission’s Khon Kaen office.
Panida "Bam" Yotpanya, 23, who recently graduated from Maha Sarakham University's humanities and social science faculty, revealed her good news on Friday.
She said a member of Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam’s working group had recently phoned her and asked what type of government work she would be interested in if there was no vacancy for her at the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.
The caller said there were vacant positions at other government agencies, such as the PACC's office in Khon Kaen if she was interested.
Ms Panida said she was delighted at the prospect of working at the PACC, and she immediately accepted the job at the commission’s Region 4 office.
“When the deputy prime minister’s working group member mentioned the PACC, I was extremely happy because I felt that my family and I would be secure.
"After submitting my personal record to the working group, I received the good news that the deputy prime minister will complete the procedures needed to recruit me as a government official at the PACC’s Khon Kaen Region 4 Office, she said.
Ïn a recent media interview, Ms Panida said she had been unable to get a government job after completing her studies, despite earlier promises by high-ranking officials at several state agencies. Four months after she graduated she had still heard nothing regarding her recruitment into the civil service.
Ms Panida, who majored in community development, and three other students on her course were given positions as interns at the centre for the assistance of the destitute.
They rose to fame early this year after they lodged a complaint with the National Council for Peace and Order that led eventually to the exposure of systemic embezzlement of state funds nationwide intended for the underprivileged.
Their complaint about payments for the poor being pocketed by officials prompted authorities to examine how the fund was spent at other welfare centres across the country.
Panida Yotpanya, 23, (second right) who blew the whistle on corruption at the Khon Kaen welfare centre has accepted the offer of a government job at the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission's Khon Kaen office. (Photo by Chakkrapan Natanri)