Thailand's justice minister was forced Sunday to defend himself against a no confidence motion after the opposition alleged official flood relief work had been plagued by corruption and mismanagement. As director of the government's Flood Relief Operation Command, justice minister Pracha Promnok was responsible for overseeing nationwide relief efforts in the wake of Thailand's worst floods in half a century.
The floods devastated vast areas of the kingdom and have left more than 600 people dead. Pracha's work was grossly inadequate, said opposition Democrat Party lawmaker Jurin Laksanavisit, who claimed that both the state's flood aid budget and private donations had been embezzled by ruling party officials.
"The widespread floods were not only caused by nature, but also by a failure of the Flood Relief Operation Command to deal with the situation," Jurin told parliament. Another Democrat Party lawmaker, Apirak Kosayothin said the government's appointment choices were squarely to blame for what he called a lacklustre response to the crisis.