Prayut wants people to have their say on country’s future

DESPITE THE ban on politial activity, General Prayut Chan-o-cha has encouraged people to take part in the political process by answering the six questions he has posed concerning the election and future politics.
In his weekly televised monologue on Friday, the head of the junta said he had no political motivation and he had no intention to intensify the political conflict. He said he did not mean to be in conflict with any “good and patriotic politicians and political parties”.
He only wanted to create some understanding and help lay out some principles for the people, Prayut said.
“What does that mean, when you say you want people to have a voice and be able to make a change in politics? So, all good and patriotic politicians should agree [with the idea of having people answer the six questions],” the PM remarked.
Everyone should accept the flaws of the democratic regime that persisted in the past, he said. It had become increasingly violent, so everybody should help to turn it back to normality, he said.
Hence, Prayut said he encouraged people to take part and answer the six questions he had posed last week. People could feel free to express their thoughts and offer additional comments, he said, adding that he wanted everyone to help think and find solutions to political issues.
The six questions were in addition to the four questions that he posed in June - also about the election, politicians and politics. They came amid pressure from political parties calling for the junta to loosen its grip on political activities given that the relevant organic laws were ready and the election was approaching.
In his address, he also stressed that politicians should behave and provide good governance so as to give hope to the country and the people. He said that highly anticipated reform could be realised if political parties integrated their policies with the national strategy that was being written by the regime.
In a related development, a survey conducted by Super Poll released yesterday showed that a majority of people wanted new blood and faces in politics.
The poll, conducted among 1,123 people on Thursday and Friday, found that about three quarters, or 74.9 per cent, of respondents wanted new choices of political parties. The remaining 25.1 per cent said that this was not necessary.
Similarly, 81.9 per cent said they would like to see new politicians. More than half of those surveyed – 60.1 per cent – said the National Council for Peace and Order had a right to support a political party.