The person who exposed the scandal in the well-known Yingluck Shinawatra government’s rice pledging plan, Dr Warong Dechgitvigrom, has cautioned Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and the Pheu Thai party to avoid causing trouble with the rice issue.
Dr. Warong, leader of the conservative Thai Pakdee party, was talking about Phumtham’s recent visit to a warehouse in Surin province, where over 100,000 sacks of rice, purchased under the rice pledging plan about a decade ago, are still being kept.
The minister, some officials and a group of reporters consumed cooked rice from the warehouse to demonstrate that the rice is still safe to eat, after being washed 15 times in water before being cooked. He also mentioned that the ministry plans to sell the remaining 15,000 tonnes of rice to “some African countries” as old rice, which could bring in about 200 million baht, instead of letting the rice spoil in the warehouse.
Phumtham’s rice-eating public relations move is being regarded by some as an effort to cover up the claim that the rice, purchased under the corruption-plagued plan, is not suitable for consumption, is only good for turning into bio fuel, and to argue that the harm from the plan is not as extensive as alleged by its opponents.
In his post on Facebook today, Dr Warong stated that there has been an attempt by the government to sell the remaining rice through auction, but he questioned why the winners of three previous auctions declined to take delivery, and added that a fourth auction was suddenly called off the day before the scheduled auction.
Quoting rice experts, Dr Warong mentioned that 10-year-old rice is not suitable for human or animal consumption, as the grains contain toxins. From a marketing perspective, he said that the sale of the rice to African countries could harm the Thai rice export market.
If the rice-eating stunt was meant to cover up the scandalous rice pledging plan, the result will be just the opposite, as it will bring back the decade-old scandal and may lead to further revelations.
Democrat party spokesman Ramet Rattanachaweng advised the government to think carefully about any attempt to cover up the rice pledging plan by trying to sell the decade-old rice.
He suggested that the government send samples of the rice to experts to check its quality, safety, and edibility.
He also cautioned that exporting the old rice may harm the reputation of all Thai rice.
