The cabinet on Tuesday approved the transfer of the Phuket governor to a post at the Interior Ministry, one day after Prime Minister Anutin Charvirakul signed a lightning order transferring his two deputies, in a move to end conflict inside the provincial hall.
Mr Auntin said the cabinet agreed to the transfer of Phuket governor Nirat Pongsitthavorn to the position of deputy permanent secretary at the ministry.
Deputy permanent secretary Chotnarin Kerdsom was appointed the new governor.
The swap was proposed by permanent secretary Unsit Sampuntharat and aimed at ending a conflict between the outgoing governor and his deputies, he said.
The move came one day after Mr Anutin abruptly transferred the two deputy governors out of the southern island province following social media reports showing one of them had threatened to arrange governor Narit's transfer off the island.
Mr Anutin signed transfer orders on Monday, in his capacity as interior minister, assigning Theerapong Chuaychu to the job of deputy governor in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Adul Chuthong as deputy governor in Songkhla.
The two were replaced by Khetrat Charnsilp, moving from Samut Sakhon, and Ramadan Hayee-awae, from Songkhla. The orders were effective on Tuesday.
The prime minister's decision came shortly after Mr Anutin chaired a teleconference with all provincial governors and their deputies.
The changes also followed reports on local Facebook pages in Phuket alleging that some businesses operating illegally on Phuket beaches were backed by senior officials in the province. The reports said that one of the officials claimed to have enough influence to have the Phuket governor transferred out of the province if he stood in their way.
The reports did not give details or names, only dropping a hint that one person's nickname was similar to a marine crustacean.
Mr Theerapong and Mr Adul coincidently have the same nickname, Gung, meaning shrimp in English.
During the online meeting, the prime minister pressed the two men for an explanation of the claim about being able to have the provincial governor transferred. Mr Theerapong said he would explain and would write an official report to the Interior Ministry "because it involves several people".
Mr Adul and the Phuket governor were tight-lipped when Mr Anutin raised the issue.
"Anyone who claims to have the power to transfer a provincial governor is out of his mind," Mr Anutin said during the meeting. "The interior minister is sitting here".
Mr Anutin told reporters after the meeting that any deputy governor claming to be able to transfer the governor "might have watched too many comedy series". He also vowed to end the influence of figures behind all illegal businesses on the resort island.
Local reports on the social media platform cry foul over the illegal businesses still being allowed to operate on public beaches with support of state officials, even though the prime minister last month vowed to move against them during a visit to the resort island.
Mr Nirat said later on Tuesday he was undeterred by his transfer and continued to respect the authority of the prime minister and the Interior Ministry.
"I have no personal conflict with anyone. Disputes existed in the province before my tenure and my role was to resolve them," he said.
He said progress had been made in several areas, including curbing foreign mafia activity. However, he admitted that some local conflicts remained unresolved and required ministry-level attention.
"I will continue to perform my duties to the best of my ability and to uphold righteousness. Success depends on my superiors' evaluation. If certain issues cannot be resolved, I must accept that,” he said.
People's Party list-MP and spokeswoman Pukkamon Nunarnan criticised the sudden transfer of the Phuket governor and his deputies as a political power play.
Ms Pukkamon claimed to have evidence of benefit-seeking by Phuket officials dating back to 2023 and asked why the prime minister was only now acting on it.
