Thai democracy: 'wrong buttons in wrong holes'
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PRIME MINISTER General Prayut Chan-o-cha went out of his way to address a question posed by ABC Australia's Southeast Asia correspondent Samantha Hawley, at a press conference in Government House yesterday, by getting down from the podium and walking up
The reporter asked if he knew that the foreign community feared Thailand would not achieve a true democracy under the new charter, which is being drafted.
Prayut asked what democracy was in her view. If it was about having freedom, then today people can go around freely, he said, adding Thailand must reform its charter.
As an analogy, he undid some buttons of his shirt to explain to the reporter in English that Thai democracy was a case of wrong buttons in the wrong holes. He said the result was not only the shirt looks wrinkled but even the trouser looks untidy.
Prayut urged the Thai media to explain to foreigners about the invoking of Article 44.
He insisted the law would be applied in a constructive way, as |the law gives officials a mechanism to deal with perpetrators of wrongdoings without the hassle of red |tape.
“I am not a ruthless person. Please explain to foreign countries or they may think that I am intoxicated with power,’’ he said.
