By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-09-12 21:06:28 | Updated at 2026-09-12 23:00:03
2 hours ago
BANGKOK – As one of Thailand’s youngest Cabinet ministers, Chaichanok Chidchob, 36, has attracted media attention right from the start. Now, the Minister of Digital Economy and Society is again under scrutiny over an artificial intelligence project that has been dogged by allegations of procurement irregularities.
But in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times, his first with foreign media, the mild-mannered British-educated minister remains unfazed and stands by the project.
“We have done internal investigations, and the report is that everything has been done under the law,” he says. “And should there be any process of the Justice Department, we’re ready to go and give information. But my intentions are pure, and I’m confident that everything we do is under the law and with the good of the people in mind.”
The project in question is the TH-AI Passport scheme launched on Aug 31, which gives five million eligible citizens aged 15 and above access to more than 30 professional AI models by 14 leading AI service providers like Google and OpenAI for free for up to one year.
The aim is to help Thais become more familiar with AI tools, use them and upgrade their AI skills. So far, 1.5 million citizens have registered to use the programme’s AiPass platform.
But opposition MPs have slammed the 1.6 billion baht (S$61 million) project, alleging irregularities in the procurement process, possible collusion with contracted companies and poor use of public funds.
They have demanded the project be stopped and investigated.
Living with the Chidchob name
The scrutiny over the AI project comes on top of another burden Chaichanok has carried since entering politics: his family name.
Besides his age and controversial AI programme, Chaichanok has also attracted attention as a political heir, with critics portraying him as a “princeling”. He comes from a political dynasty known as Baan Yai, literally “Big House”, a term used in Thailand for powerful families that dominate local politics.
His father, Newin Chidchob, 67, is the founder and de facto power behind the Bhumjaithai Party, which now leads Thailand’s coalition government. A former Cabinet minister, Newin also owns Buriram United, one of the most prominent football clubs in South-east Asia, as well as the Chang International Circuit and other sports and tourism businesses.
Chaichanok’s late grandfather and uncles were also politicians and former ministers.
Chaichanok contested in his first election in 2023, winning almost 60 per cent of the votes in a constituency in Buriram where the Chidchob family had held all parliamentary seats in the province since 2011. He was fast-tracked to his ministerial post in September 2025 when Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul became prime minister following the collapse of the Paetongtarn Shinawatra administration.
In the Feb 8 General Election, Chaichanok returned to Parliament as a Bhumjaithai party-list MP and was reappointed Digital Economy and Society Minister. He is the youngest minister in Anutin’s Cabinet.
Some have criticised Chaichanok, saying his meteoric political ascent was due solely to his political connections.
Chaichanok is fully aware of these judgments but says he cannot change the facts.
“I wouldn’t deny that. If it wasn’t because I am my father’s son, or I have known the party leader (Anutin) from before going into politics, they wouldn’t have known my achievements,” he admits.
Yet politics was not, by his own account, where he expected to end up. Chaichanok spent much of his youth in the UK and worked in the family’s football, motorsport and e-sports businesses before entering politics. Much of his life, in fact, was spent outside politics – making his eventual decision to follow his father into the political arena all the more striking.
He has also spoken about having to convince his father that e-sports and gaming could be serious businesses – an experience that now seems particularly apt for a minister trying to push Thailand into the AI age.
That background, and his family name, mean Chaichanok knows he needs to work harder than most to prove himself.
As Thailand’s digital economy minister, Chaichanok wants to accomplish much more.
He wants to expand the Government Data Center and Cloud Service for state agencies to share a centralised cloud infrastructure, leading to greater efficiency and cost savings.
Chaichanok also wants to develop a better disaster warning system for natural calamities such as earthquakes. He hopes to build a foundation for AI use in Thailand that reaches beyond major cities and into rural provinces.
The TH-AI Passport project launched in August is not the only initiative to help boost AI use and diffusion among the country’s roughly 70 million people, he says, adding that the government is also working to improve the legislation governing AI and data centres.
He lets on that Nvidia, a leading US chipmaker and AI computing firm, may become a potential partner to help strengthen Thailand’s AI environment.
“I’m afraid we have to wait for (the plans) to solidify before we can share (them). But they are interested in the whole ecosystem as well, not just the chip part, to come and help support and create a long-lasting, sustainable ecosystem for Thai AI,” he says.
When pressed by ST, Chaichanok hints that developments may come soon. “I think it’s not a long time, within the year,” he says with a grin.
Eager to prove himself
Despite all his ambitious plans, Chaichanok feels he has already been judged before having a chance to fully display his abilities.
“You’re already judged before you’ve done anything, and people already have a pre-conception, assumption of who you are, and the concept of me being a dynastic politician,” he says, sounding more resigned than angry.
“It was nasty from the start before I even joined. So it doesn’t matter who I am, it doesn’t matter what I’ve done, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing. They’ve already decided.”
It is the performance of the individuals, Chaichanok feels, rather than the family’s background, that should ultimately be assessed.
“It wouldn’t be fair to say dynastic families are this or that. You should look at the person, if they are really pulling their weight. If they’ve been given the chance to shine or prove their worth, just watch them. If they don’t, trust me they will not be able to stay,” he says.
Without showing any signs of frustration, the soft-spoken Chaichanok says he feels that politics is a thankless job.
“It was never for praise. It was never for approval. It’s to do what you can to make a difference. And if I can do it, great. If I can’t, I’ll be more than happy to step down.”
As Bhumjaithai’s secretary-general since March 2024, he believes he has helped to transform the party, paved the way for younger politicians to be heard, and challenged groupthink.
He shared how in April 2025, while his party was in a coalition government led by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party, he had opposed its proposal to legalise casinos as part of entertainment complexes in the country.
That meant risking relations with the coalition’s leading party and could have contributed to Bhumjaithai being pushed out of the government.
Chaichanok also cited how he, as a minister, cancelled a memorandum of understanding with a private company in 2025 because the agreement contained suspicious elements and possible links to global digital money laundering networks.
He acknowledges there is still much more for him to learn as a Cabinet minister but believes he has earned his place.
“There are many people that I’m currently learning from, and I’m bringing groups of talented people to work with me. But I think there are a lot of politicians that you may call ‘more qualified than me’ that wouldn’t have made those decisions for the people,” Chaichanok says.
“So it’s up to the people to decide, but I’ll do my best,” he adds.
