Most Thais back ending MOU 43-44 despite limited understanding

A recent opinion poll by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) shows that 60.76 per cent of respondents support holding a referendum on revoking the Thailand-Cambodia Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) 43 and 44, signed in 2000 and 2001 to manage border and maritime resource disputes.

However, nearly half admitted they did not understand the agreements.

NIDA conducted the survey, titled “A referendum is coming… but do you understand MOU 43 and MOU 44 yet?”, between October 1–2 among 1,310 Thais aged 18 and above across all regions, education levels, occupations, and income groups.

When asked about their understanding of MOU 43,

• 44.12% said they did not understand it at all,
   
• 24.96% said they understood little,
   
• 23.13% said they somewhat understood, and
   
• 7.79% said they understood it well.
   

Regarding MOU 44,

• 45.73% said they did not understand it at all,
   
• 24.96% said they understood little,
   
• 22.44% said they somewhat understood, and
   
• 6.87% said they understood it well.

When asked whether they wished to gain a clearer understanding of the two MOUs,

• 65.50% said yes,
   
• 34.04% said no,
   
• while 0.23% expressed interest in understanding only one of the two.
   

As for the referendum on cancelling MOU 43 and MOU 44,

• 60.76% supported the idea,
   
• 20.92% opposed it,
   
• 12.60% gave no answer or were uninterested,
   
• 4.96% were unsure,
   
• 0.46% supported cancelling only MOU 43, and
   
• 0.30% supported cancelling only MOU 44.