
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha may want to tread carefully in exercising his special power under Section 44 to serve his increasingly arbitrary and unpredictable decisions. These have proven even more erratic recently, especially after he invoked Section 44 to fire Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn last week.
Granted, this is not Gen Prayut's first dismissal of a key official. He earlier used his dictatorial powers to replace former Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra with incumbent Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang.
After sacking Mr Somchai, the premier signed another order using his power as head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to dismiss Thai Rubber Association governor Titus Suksaard.