Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra Suspended After Phone Call with Hun Sen Leaked

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Thailand's Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office pending an ethics investigation into leaked phone calls with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.

The court said in a statement that it had received a petition from 36 senators accusing Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards, in violation of the constitution, over leaked phone calls with Cambodia's powerful former leader Hun Sen.

The Constitutional Court voted 7-2 to suspend her while it considers the case for her removal. The daughter of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra has 15 days to present her defence.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over the interim role while the court decides on the case against Paetongtarn, who has 15 days to respond.

Paetongtarn will remain in the new cabinet as culture minister after the cabinet reshuffle.

The controversy stems from a June 15 phone call with Cambodia's powerful former leader Hun Sen that was intended to ease rising border tensions between the two neighbours.

During the call, Paetongtarn, 38, called Hun Sen an “uncle” and criticised a Thai army commander. The criticism is a red line in a country where the military wields significant influence. He has apologised and said his comments were a negotiating tactic.

The leaked call caused outrage at home and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razor-thin majority, with one key party leaving the alliance and expected to soon file a no-confidence motion in parliament, as protest groups demand the prime minister resign.

On Tuesday, Paetongtarn apologised again, adding that the purpose of his call with Hun Sen was “more than 100%… for the country”.

The call was about the border dispute between the two countries – though decades old, tensions have flared again since late May when a Cambodian soldier was killed.

The leaked audio recording particularly angered conservative lawmakers who accused him of appeasing Hun Sen and weakening the Thai military.

But he defended himself on Tuesday, saying: "I didn't mean to do it for my own benefit. I was just thinking about how to avoid chaos, avoid conflict and avoid loss of life.

"If you listen carefully, you will understand that I didn't mean any harm. This is what I will focus on and take the time to explain thoroughly."

If he is ultimately dismissed, Paetongtarn would be the second Pheu Thai prime minister to be removed from office since August last year.

At that time, his predecessor Srettha Thavisin was impeached, also by the constitutional court, for appointing a jailed former lawyer to his cabinet.

Days later, Paetongtarn - whose father was Thailand's ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra - was sworn in as prime minister.

Tuesday's ruling again underlines the constitutional court's power to overthrow governments, which critics say could be used to target political opponents.

The court has dissolved 34 parties since 2006, including the reformist Move Forward party, which won the most seats and votes in the 2023 general election but is blocked from forming a government.

Paetongtarn, 38, remains the country’s youngest leader and only the second woman to become prime minister after her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra.

Already struggling to revive a sluggish economy, Paetongtarn saw her approval rating fall to 9.2 percent last weekend, down from 30.9 percent in March.

The court ruling came on the same day that Paetongtarn’s father, seen as the driving force behind her government, was battling his own political troubles.

Thaksin is fighting charges of insulting the monarchy over an interview he gave to a South Korean newspaper nine years ago. His trial began Tuesday.

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