PM: Economic challenge the biggest test for govt

PRIME Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced yesterday that the government had won high marks for overall performance except in the area of economic management.

The latest nationwide survey by the National Statistical Office revealed that 99 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the government’s overall performance. 

The three top performances for the respondents were prices of lotteries, public welfare and drug suppression.

However, the premier said only 40 per cent of respondents were satisfied when it came to their economic well-being.

Prayut further admitted that that the majority of people are worried about the Kingdom’s sluggish economy.

The macro-economic environment has not improved, not only for Thailand but also for some other Asean countries.

Prayut said the Thai economic indicators had improved when compared to those of other Asean countries.

The government will today hold a press conference on its performance over the past year.

Regarding the public’s low rating for economic management, Prayut said the government would accelerate key measures to improve the situation and the people’s wellbeing.

The survey was conducted from November 27 to December 4, with 7,200 respondents.

The results were presented at yesterday’s Cabinet’s meeting.

Details of the survey show that people were most satisfied with how the government has maintained order and security in society.

Prayut said he personally was not satisfied with the government’s work. “I will be content once all of our work is done and I hand it off to the next government.”

According to government spokesmen, the survey covered people aged between 18 and 60 years old, with an average monthly income of Bt10,001 to Bt30,000 per household, and an average education below undergraduate level.

The survey also represents voices from local communities.

In terms of government policies, 98 per cent of respondents were happy with the lottery-price control policy, while almost 97 per cent were satisfied with the anti-drug policy and more than 92 per cent approved of the anti-corruption policy.

About 92 per cent of respondents approved of social welfare policies and 92 per cent also approved of the government’s social order management.

The survey also asked people to choose which policies they were most satisfied with. 

Some 81 per cent of respondents chose the lottery-price control policy, more than 69 per cent liked policies relating to social welfare, 64 per cent were satisfied with policies to protect national resources, 55 per cent liked anti-drug policies and 55 per cent favoured anti-corruption policies.

Asked what new state policies were most urgent, 53 per cent of respondents said it should control the cost of living, more than 35 per cent favoured agricultural product price improvements, 29 per cent chose drugs and narcotics control, and more than 25 per cent said debt-related issues.

More than 98 per cent of people trusted the government to solve problems at a national level, a government source said.

Meanwhile, Thammasat University political lecturer Attasit Pankaew said the survey reflected people’s opinions on specific topics such as the lottery-price control rather than highlighting other issues such as corruption.

“This is in contrast to the government’s priority to combat against graft,” Attasit said. “It could be also that the Rajbhakti Park scandal was emerging during the time.”

The results could also reflect how people in that income bracket prioritised issues, Attasit said, adding that results could differ if collected from middle-income respondents. For instance, the survey respondents did not put corruption as a top priority, according to the poll.