Bangkok: Ice Ratchanok has revealed that the Social Security Office (SSO) has used nearly one billion baht in non-transparent funds. She is urging the SSO to disclose all meeting minutes and is threatening legal action under Section 157 if there is no progress.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Ratchanok Srinok, a Bangkok MP for the Prachachon Party and spokesperson for the House of Representatives' Committee on Budget Preparation and Monitoring, held a press conference to raise concerns about the SSO's IT budget. The budget suggests a lack of transparency in the use of social security funds. The nearly 1 billion baht project includes a 548 million baht medical service development system project to improve the medical service system, including the insured person's handbook for basic health screening, a treatment record system, and an open API system for public access to treatment information. Although the project is complete, the SSO has not yet activated it, citing issues related to personal data protection laws, which Ms. Ratchanok claims is a false excuse. Additionally, she highlighted a 79 million baht project for a water mist fire extinguishing system, which the SSO says needs replacement, even though its lifespan is 20-30 years.
Ms. Ratchanok further explained that an investigation found the product in question is still available in the market. She likened this to a car air conditioner that needs a refrigerant refill rather than a complete replacement. However, the SSO has opted for purchasing a new system. Furthermore, the SSO's data center security system, costing over 200 million baht, was claimed to be at the end of its life, despite better and cheaper alternatives being available. The chair of the task force deciding on this was a former salesperson for a company previously partnered with the office, leading to further transparency concerns.
Ms. Ratchanok also criticized the SSO for not complying with the Official Information Act of 1997 over the past 20 years, as it has not disclosed meeting minutes or resolutions. She questioned whether this amounts to dereliction of duty and urged the SSO to make all meeting minutes public. If no progress is seen, she will pursue legal action under Section 157 against those responsible. She also called for a halt to IT budget projects that lack transparency.
"I will give the Social Security Office a chance. If they still realize their mistakes, and from now on, they will release the meeting minutes, they will not pursue the case. However, if there is no progress in the next two to three months, they must consider that someone in the Social Security Office and on the board will be charged with Section 157. Otherwise, they don't care and don't prioritize compliance with the law or disclosure of information according to the law. Therefore, today we are calling for a halt to projects that are unreasonable, wasteful, and frivolous in the Social Security Office's sub-offices. Another issue is transparency, which means disclosing meeting minutes and meeting resolutions, whether from the main board or all sub-offices within the Social Security Office," Ms. Ratchanok stated.