PM slams media for ‘creating confusion’
THE PRIME minister yesterday blamed the mass media for what he called “the public’s confusion”, saying they focused too much on gossip, backbiting and social media.
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who also serves as chief of the ruling junta National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said the confusion undermined his government’s efforts to tackle major issues.
“The efforts to deal with big issues have not succeeded. It’s because of lack of confidence in the government, and this affects the government’s stability,” he said.
“People have been confused and they ask what they had gained after three years of this government. What have you done over the past three years? You have to look at this point,” he told journalists at Government House.
The prime minister hosted a New Year event for media representatives, which was also attended by many Cabinet members.
Prayut said the needs of people in the country must not be ignored. “If they didn’t want me to solve their problems, I would not have been allowed to be here until today,” he added.
The prime minister also criticised the country’s mass media for presenting little of substance, with much of its content based on gossip and useless issues from social media.
But Prayut said he did not consider himself an enemy of the media, although he asked them to change their attitude “like everybody else”.
During his lecture, the prime minister also displayed newspapers that he had read, criticising the headlines on their front pages.