DE Ministry chief gets S44 shift
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DE Ministry chief gets S44 shift

The permanent secretary of the new Digital Economy and Society Ministry has been shuffled out of her job by an order from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Songporn Komolsuradej was transferred to the Prime Minister's Office as a "special inspector-general", under an order that took effect on Saturday. The reason for the move was not given.

The transfer was made under Section 44 -- the "dictator clause" of the interim constitution -- that gives the prime minister the power to do almost anything when conventional procedures do not work.

Mrs Songporn's new job description includes offering advice on the digital economy to the prime minister if asked. Typically, though, inspector-general positions are regarded as inactive posts for bureaucrats who have fallen out of favour.

The transfer order, which was published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday, said that Mrs Songporn would be replaced as the DE Ministry permanent secretary by Wilailuk Chuliwattanakul, currently the director of the National Statistics Office.

The DE Ministry formally came into being in September, replacing the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry, where Mrs Songporn also served as permanent secretary.

Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong currently heads the new ministry.

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