Thamanat turns down award

Capt Thamanat Prompow, secretary-general of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), has refused to accept an award from the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (Afaps) for his outstanding contribution to society, according to a source.

The controversial soldier-turned-politician was nominated for the award this year, but due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the usual annual ceremony to present the award to him and other outstanding Afaps alumni has been postponed until next year, said the source.

Capt Thamanat, who was sacked as deputy agriculture minister on Sept 9, had already informed Afaps committee about his decision to decline the award, said the source.

The committee reconvenes in December to finalise a list of the alumni who will attend the award presentation ceremony, scheduled for Jan 27 next year, said the source.

The no-confidence debate was carried out against a backdrop of factions within the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) pushing for cabinet seats in exchange for their votes of support for the premier.

The move to topple Gen Prayut was reportedly engineered by heavyweights in the ruling PPRP, including Capt Thamanat and a number of renegade government MPs.

The alleged plot to topple the PM by amassing no-confidence votes against him in the debate resulted in the PM receiving the second lowest votes of confidence and the most no-confidence votes among six targets when MPs cast their votes.

Aside from Capt Thamanat, six other Afaps alumni set to receive the same award have also reportedly turned down the offer this year.