Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves announced yesterday (29 August) that the Seri Ruam Thai Party has withdrawn from the Pheu Thai-led government coalition because he was not given any position in the government and threatened to release information about former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves (Photo from Seri Ruam Thai Party)

Sereepisuth, who is Seri Ruam Thai’s leader and only MP, said in a press conference that the party’s executive board voted 7 to 4 to withdraw from the government coalition and that the decision was made because his party was not given enough attention and he was not allocated a seat in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Nevertheless, he said that it is a good thing that he is no longer part of the coalition because he would no longer have to feel uncomfortable when criticizing government policies, especially the Digital Wallet programme.

Sereepisuth claimed that although Paetongtarn is Prime Minister, it is her father Thaksin who is running the show. He also claimed that, several years ago, Thaksin promised to give him a position in the police headquarters and to make him a minister, but did not follow through with his promise. He speculated that Seri Ruam Thai was not allocated a position because he is its only MP.

During the press conference, Sereepisuth presented printouts of screen captures from the instant messaging application Line showing a conversation with a person who arranged meetings with Thaksin while he was a patient at the Police General Hospital. He claimed he met Thaksin twice, in November 2023 and February 2024, to discuss ousting Gen Prawit Wongsuwan and his family members from the government. He also alleged that Thaksin asked him to withdraw a complaint he filed with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

Sereepisuth claimed he holds more information about Thaksin which he may release in the future and is waiting to see if the NACC will summon him to testify, claiming that individuals involved in Thaksin’s stay at the Police General Hospital while serving his prison sentence could face prosecution. He also said that releasing these messages should be taken as the end of his relationship with Thaksin and that he will not be taking any Cabinet position even if he were to be invited.

Seri Ruam Thai’s departure is the latest in a series of changes to the government coalition. Earlier this week, Pheu Thai MPs and its executive board voted to remove the military-backed Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) from the coalition, citing dissatisfaction with actions of PPRP party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwan. Pheu Thai then invited the Democrat Party to join the coalition.

Meanwhile, the PPRP appeared to have broken into two factions after Gen Prawit and Thamanat Prompao, the Party’s Secretary-General, fought over who is to be nominated to the  PPRP quota of cabinet seats. Thamanat’s faction has explicitly expressed its intention to remain in the Pheu Thai–led government, and it was reported that Thamanat’s faction has completed its discussions with the government.