Government denies media interference

Spokesperson responds to controversy over imminent end of political show on MCOT

The Thai government has denied closely monitoring or interfering with the media after a popular television programme that frequently criticised governments and politicians was dropped from the broadcaster MCOT.

Government spokeswoman Rachada Dhanadirek was responding on Saturday to a controversy surrounding the morning current affairs programme Jor Luek Thua Thai (Inside Thailand).

The programme has aired on Channel 9 MCOT HD for seven years after moving from a commercial station to the state-owned broadcaster during the government of Prayut Chan-o-cha. It was announced this week that June 30 would be the programme’s last day on the air.

Its hosts, veteran journalists Danai Ekmahasawat and Amornrat Mahittirook, also referred to as “Ma Kae and Maew Sao”, (old dog and young cat) are known for scrutinising and criticising the work of governments, authorities and influential politicians.

The duo said this week that there were no problems or conflicts with the station or MCOT management. Ms Amornrat, a former Bangkok Post reporter, said the programme would continue in a new format on another platform, with updates to be announced on the Inside Thailand Facebook page.

MCOT Plc is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand but still has state enterprise status as 65% of its shares are held by the Ministry of Finance.

AI Passport criticism

Speculation about political interference spread after Inside Thailand recently directed a barrage of criticism against the TH-AI Passport project, a 1.6-billion-baht scheme to provide one-year premium AI subscriptions to five million users.

The project, introduced by Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob, the son of Bhumjaithai Party patriarch Newin Chidchob, has has drawn intense scrutiny focusing on cost-effectiveness and the procurement process.

Responding to the allegations on Saturday, Ms Rachada insisted that the programme’s end had nothing to do with government orders or interference.

“The government does not interfere with the media, does not order special monitoring or surveillance of any news organisation and does not use state power to pressure journalists in the performance of their duties,” she said.

If the government truly had a policy of suppressing the media, she said, such public scrutiny and criticism would not be as visible as it already is in Thailand every day.

She said all media outlets remained free to carry out their duties as normal, provided they adhered to factual reporting and social responsibility.

Monitoring news coverage was a routine function of government agencies, she said, as it enabled the administration to stay informed about public concerns, complaints and criticism, as well as to clarify facts promptly when misinformation emerged.

Ms Rachada reaffirmed that the government remained open to public scrutiny and would continue to allow oversight of its work while upholding press freedom and democratic principles.

Three groups ‘closely watched’

Meanwhile, the investigative news agency Isra on Saturday quoted a government source as saying that the Anutin administration’s political legal team responsible for communications was closely monitoring three major media groups.

Thai media identified them as Manager Group, Nation Group and Matichon Group.

According to the Isra source, the three organisations have frequently published reports critical of the government’s performance, some of which lacked factual accuracy and concrete evidence, leading to public misunderstanding and exaggeration of events. As a result, their coverage was being monitored more closely, the source said.