Prayut urges understanding at public meeting in South
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has made a trip South ahead of a mobile Cabinet meeting, told people in Pattani province on Monday that he wanted to build understanding about the government’s policies, not vie for votes.
Prayut visited the livestock market for the deep South in Nong Jik district in the morning. He told people there that he had taken a long trip by road as his aircraft had been disrupted by torrential rain and had been forced to land at the airfield of Wing 56 in Songkhla province.
Taking to a stage prepared for him, Prayut said he gave great an importance to the deep South, which comprises three provinces plus five districts of Songkhla. He urged the people to be united, not divisive, and help steer the country forward.
The premier said security efforts had improved and a better economy would follow. He urged people not to hate the military, because things in the South had improved since it stepped in.
It was not just the application of the law that would solve the violence, he said, but economic development. He also said that people should help one another to stop groups from instigating violence.
“I’m here, not to vie for votes, but to create understanding about how we will move the country forward,” he said. “There are a lot of problems, some real, others not. But I insist that we have been working extensively so that you can access the things that are available to people in other regions.”
The premier said there would be a massive investment in a number of infrastructure projects in the region.
As for the plummeting rubber price, he said the government had been doing its best and rubber planters should not hold demonstrations to put pressure on it.
At the end of the speech, the premier had a tense encounter with one fisherman. Because of the noisy atmosphere, there was a minor misunderstanding that prompted Prayut to shout at the man.
When security officers moved in to remove the fisherman, the premier said: “Please be cool, everyone involved is trying to solve the problems and they all cannot be solved at once.”
The premier planned to visit a palm oil processing plant in the same district in the afternoon before having discussions about security and meeting local leaders at the 15th Infantry Division headquarters.
In the evening, Prayut was due to chair a meeting in Songkhla about social and economic development in the South.