Phumtham starts his first day at Defence Ministry with sacred rites
Top brass join Phumtham and his deputy in honour past kings and warriors before the ministers officially assume their roles
Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai performed sacred rites and paid respect to revered figures, including statues of past kings and military leaders before officially starting work.
Phumtham, who also doubles as deputy prime minister, was joined in these ceremonies by Deputy Defence Minister General Nattapon Nakphanit.
The rites commenced at 10am, with the ministers paying respect at the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine, located near the Defence Ministry.
After this, Phumtham and Nattapon entered the ministry’s compound to make offerings to past warrior kings and generals, such as King Naresuan the Great, King Rama III and King Rama V.
Also present were Defence permanent secretary General Sanitchanok Sangkhachan, defence forces chief General Songwit Noonpackdee, Army chief General Charoenchai Hinthao, Navy chief Admiral Adung Phan-iam and Air Force chief ACM Seksan Kantha.
After the rites, Phumtham and Nattaphon reviewed the guards of honour from the Army, Navy and Air Force. They were then briefed of the current key missions of the Defence Ministry before having lunch with the top brass and the permanent secretary.
Military sources revealed that Phumtham’s first urgent mission is to find a replacement for Adung, who will retire at the end of this month. Sources say the top brass have not been able to agree on Adung’s successor.
