){kind=small}
){kind=small}
The rise of two military preparatory-school classmates to the highest positions in the Army and the police force seems to give Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva a comfortable feel politically.
In an exclusive interview with The Nation yesterday, the unassuming Wichien acknowledged the complexities of his job.
He's taking the police helm at a time when the force is being contemptuously called "tomato" by one side, and picked on for "double-standards" by the other. That is in addition to the fact that the position of police chief was one of the highly politicised issues during the prime minister's initial months in power.
Political wrangling forced General Patheep Tanprasert to work as acting national police
chief, without a royal command confirming his appointment for months. His retirement next month requires a compromising replacement who can also revive a force low on morale and perceived to be deeply involved in politics. Wichean's nomination was relatively smooth, but it was supposed to be the easy part, anyway. What awaits him will be anything but rosy.
"I'm committed to do the right thing, whether it involves annual transfers or issues that can invoke charges of double-standards," he said. His plan - to rebuild police harmony and promote the welfare of the 200,000-plus force - may sound broad, but it seeks to tackle current major problems.
The Police Department's deep-rooted corruption problem has been blamed largely on poor distribution of welfare and retirement insecurity felt by the majority of the police force. That was compounded by red-yellow politics. Wichean is inheriting a force not at its best of times, and one that has to work with one eye on who is going to be its next boss.
"I can't think of myself, of |having to remain in the post until the day I retire if I want to do the
right thing," Wichean said.
Wichean's path to the top police job is similar to the circumstances when former general Pow Sarasin got the post in 1987. Both Pow and Wichean were chosen to lead at critical junctures to revamp the force.
Wichean spent the major part of his career as a royal guard before being elevated to the rank of general in 2002. He returned to the police service after the 2006 coup. Although he is widely respected in security circles - an area he considers himself to have sufficient expertise in - he claims no power base among police ranks.
He faces a bigger test than General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is set to be the new Army chief with a far more consolidated foundation. Prayuth will encounter the same challenge - of how to win the trust of all "colours". Both men were classmates at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Class 12.
Known as appointments that will ensure the political stability of Prime Minister Abhisit, both Wichean and Prayuth, who have a few more years left to serve in the top positions, will be required to serve the country by helping heal the wounds. That means an extremely difficult task of simply doing their jobs.