Culture minister stresses need for harmony among Thais
The new Minister of Culture Ittipol Khunpluem announced on Thursday that the Ministry would continue to focus on Thailand’s art and culture, national heritage and religion while also tribute to the Monarch by working closely with the ministries of Tourism and Sports, Education, Interior, and Social Development and Human Security to promote a sustainable and peaceful society.
In this regard, the ministry has requested a budget of Bt14 billion for 2020, an increase of 40 per cent from Bt9.1 billion of the previous year.
Speaking at the Culture Ministry in the compound of the Thailand Cultural Centre on Rachadaphisek Road.Ittipol added that he is greatly honoured to have been part of the new cabinet to be endorsed by His Majesty the King.
“I will follow His Majesty the King’s first royal statement and ensure good governance by working in harmony and collaborating to solve problems.
Eleven emergency plans will be announced by the ministry next week,” he added.
He stated that the new cultural policy included promoting Thailand's cultural identity, which will increase its value and make a great impact on further business development. “The new policy will support creativity and applied technology in cultural knowledge to create innovations and encourage Thai to preserve their culture. The ministry aims to connect past, present, and future and merge Thai ways of life that have an impact on sentimental value and promote good mental health and harmony. Cultural identity helps Thailand stand out in the global community. Thais have a spiritual anchor in the monarchy and in the heritage of Thailand.”
“The ministry of culture will preserve our culture and is already preparing traditional ceremonies to mark His Majesty the King’s birthday and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother’s birthday a will also put on the royal coronation exhibition, which aims to educate and invite people to become part of the history. The ministry is also focusing on religious ceremonies and plans to hold five merit-making ceremonies for the King on which we will collaborate with local institutes and organizations,” the minister said.
Ittipol adds that he will push Thais at all levels to work together in line with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s call for harmony and love between Thai people.
“It will happen if everyone believes in the cabinet who will lead our country to success. We will try to minimise the social gap and age gap to create a harmonized society and use technology to resolve conflicts. We would like to see a positive attitude and devotion of our citizens to our country. This development has to start from a family environment and will lead to cultural studies and an investigation of our roots.
“I will focus on collaboration between organizations. We have traditionally worked with the ministries of Education, Social Development and Human Security, Tourism and Sports and Interior and this will continue. This advantage will play an important role in eliminating similar government projects and lead to lower government expenditure.”
“This policy will also underline the importance of language. Thai people must clearly understand the Thai language. Moreover, they have to understand dialect to accept local customs and minorities in Thailand. Thailand as the head of the ASEAN community has promoted diversity and similarity in the region and this will be a topic in future Asean meetings. This government will finish all the projects started in the previous term, revising our plans so that these are in line with the 20-year master plan strategy.”
