Fortune tellers fine but no plan to run in polls: Prayut
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Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that he had no plans to run for election and denied that he had consulted a famous fortune teller on the subject.
Prayut was asked by a reporter yesterday whether he had had a session with the famous astrologer known as ET, which he denied.
Prayut defended the widespread practice of consulting fortune tellers, however, saying there was nothing wrong with it.
Asked if he believed in fortune telling, he said one should not look down on it. He cited one example, saying he had been warned about clashes with reporters.
Asked if he thought doing good would enable him to become a prime minister again in the future, Prayut replied that it was up to fate and his karma.
Prodded again on whether he was told by any fortune teller how long he would last as a prime minister, Prayut said it depended, adding that some fortune tellers predicted he would hold the position for a short period, and others said he should stay for the long term. In essence, he said he didn’t know.
Prayut shook his head when asked if he had any plan to become an elected prime minister one day, and added: “No, no.”
Asked if he was content with just being a prime minister installed through a coup d’etat, Prayut retorted, “I might throw [the podium at you]. Enough. Enough.”
The day also saw Prayut insisting that people were happier today than before the coup staged four months ago. He also defended the requirement that academics submit topics of university talks for approval by the government before presenting them. He insisted he was not limiting academic freedom, however, but merely wanted to avoid political gatherings.
Prayut added that if the government discovered that a topic requested for university discussion differed from the reality of the talk, the event would be shut down immediately.
The prime minister said he was prepared to visit all 77 provinces but would first drop by those facing problems.
As for foreign visits, he said the matter was being arranged, but he did not dwell on details.
On the national budget, Prayut said this year’s could not be fully utilised but the administration would try to spend more on infrastructure in the first quarter of next year.
He also said he had assigned the Agriculture Ministry to look into ways to assist rubber farmers and would soon invite farmers for consultation.
