Petition calling for Anutin’s resignation exceeds signature target, new target set

A petition hosted on Change.org, demanding the resignation of Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, has surpassed an initial target of 200,000 signatures. The target has now been increased to 300,000, with over 211,600 having signed at the time of writing. Anutin has been widely criticised for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, with signatories demanding the reins be handed over to someone with proper expertise.

Nation Thailand reports that the campaign was started by a group calling itself Mor Ja Mai Thon (“Doctors Won’t Bear It Anymore”), with the petition launched at midnight on Friday. By yesterday afternoon, it had over 200,000 signatures. The group claims Anutin lacks the necessary expertise to control Covid-19, accusing him of failing in all aspects, be it vaccine procurement, policy-making, resource management, or gaining the confidence of healthcare workers.

Comments Anutin has made in the past have come back to haunt him, including his original dismissal of the virus, during which he called it a “common cold”, as well as his view that doctors who became infected should be told off for not being careful enough. The group has cited such comments, coupled with his failure to manage the crisis, as justification for the Health Minister’s immediate resignation.

“Public acknowledgment of all these failures proves that we cannot afford to squander our precious time and must bring an end to management that is not effective enough by calling on Anutin to resign and letting those who have the ability to take over when the country is in a crisis.”

Anutin insists he’s going nowhere.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand