PM ‘feels’ pain of natural disaster, unrest in South
PRIME Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha says he feels the pain of people living in the South who are facing so many problems such as the threat of natural disasters and unrest.
“It hurts, no matter how tolerant I am, especially now that I am here,” the prime minister said during his visit to the flood-hit Narathiwat province yesterday.
Prayut urged locals to support him in his efforts to stop the problems affecting society.
“Look at what we can solve. If we find a way to solve it, we should do it immediately,” he said.
He urged people to cooperate with the government, something he said would facilitate the delivery of solutions to problems.
For example, he said if locals stopped opposing power-plant projects, their region’s would no longer be faced with unstable electrical systems.
“Tell us how you want to develop power plants. We are listening. But don’t get stuck in such situations or else old problems will linger. We must take initiatives to achieve something better,” Prayut said.
He thanked southern people for bravely facing natural disasters and all difficulties.
“I am not a southern resident. But I know southern people well because I had worked as an Army chief before,” he said.
Prayut said his visit to the South was to offer moral support to locals.
He added that only with co-operation from locals, could his government restore peace in the unrest-plagued deep South and turn it into a tourist paradise.
Prayut greeted local people and |officials before heading back to Bangkok yesterday.
