» National Broadcast by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister

National Broadcast by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister – November 27, 2015

Good evening dear Thai citizens.

Next week will be a joyous time for all of us as we celebrate the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King’s Birthday Anniversary on the 5^th of December.

This year will mark His Majesty’s 88th Birthday Anniversary and I would like to invite everyone to express felicitations and convey their best wishes and blessings, as well as take part in our national celebrations.

As we do so, we should esteem and be mindful of how His Majesty has been devoted to the Thai people all along.

This has been recognized by the United Nations through the UNDP award for ‘Human Development’, and thus admiration as “The Development King”.

This recognition is considered to be the highest achievement for human development.

One of the main celebrations will be the BIKE FOR DAD cycling event, which will take place nationwide.

This Sunday, a rehearsal will start at 3 pm. Because a large number of cyclists will be participating in this rehearsal, I would like to ask all motorists to make alternative plans and be wary of traffic conditions.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

As for people who have already registered for BIKE FOR DAD, you can collect your shirts at Supachalasai National Stadium between November 28^th and November 29^th.

The handing out of these items will commence at 8 am on both days. For your own convenience, please use the MRT and BTS.

If you need more information, please call Hotline 1122. Private vehicles will not be allowed inside and around the national stadium to prevent congestion.

For people with disabilities, we look forward to facilitating your successful participation in this auspicious celebration and the government has instructed all related agencies to look after you and provide the most appropriate routes, transportation, bicycle checkup and repair, and volunteers throughout during the event.

At the same time, I wish to inform you that the government is considering measures to provide as well as facilitate employment for disable persons and we shall expedite our efforts to yield tangible programmes.

This is in line with the United Nations’ declaration of December 3^rd to be recognized as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

We should all campaign for equal rights, access, and opportunities for disable persons so that they are empowered and can engage with the community. This will involve striving for 1) an accessible society where everyone has equal access, 2) integrated database and statistics for the disabled, and 3) the empowerment of people with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is joining hands with the Council of Disabled People of Thailand in organizing activities on December 3^rd at Muang Thong Thani to raise public awareness about this important issue. Please join this event.

There is another activity which I would like the Thai people to engage in. Launched under the Agriculture Ministry, the activity is to raise awareness about water use efficiency and called “Water use efficiency in honour of the Father of the Land”, and will be held on 2-6 Dec. at the Agriculture Ministry’s headquarters. Another event is a Royal exhibition to be held on 11-13 Dec at Sanam Suea Pa about how the Royal Family has been fundamentally involved with caring for our natural resources such as soil, water, and forests, through His Majesty’s vision.

It is also to commemorate our Royal Family’s benevolence and commitment to improve livelihoods, agricultural cooperatives, and alternative energy under the vision of “New agricultural theories as developed on Royally bestowed areas”.

I would like to ask parents, teachers, and educational institutions to take children to these exhibitions and learn from His Majesty the King.

After having attended several international gatherings, be they the APEC Summit or the ASEAN Summit, I can affirm that a key global interest at the moment is the issue of sustainable development.

Every conference I have attended, I have presented His Majesty’s philosophy of a Sufficiency Economy and how it can be applied to development, learning, daily life, as well as trade and investment. It advocates reason, moderation, and the building of resilience through wisdom and ethics.

At the United Nations meeting which followed on from the ASEAN Summit, there was mention of the 4P’s. The first P refers to ‘people’. This means that disparities should be reduced, people should be given equal opportunity and no one should be left behind. The second P refers to ‘planet’. The third P refers to ‘peace’. The final P refers to ‘partnership’. Building Partnerships should be a sustainable strategy and tangible in all dimensions.

I also proposed the concept of a “state of the people” which focuses on cooperation. Every country has a method of national administration, but the essential factor is how successful we are at building cooperation in various areas and within the integration of work.

This is what we call a “state of the people”.

Next week, between Nov 30 and Dec 2, I will be attending the 21^st Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change (COP21). It will be held in Paris.

There will be more than 170 world leaders attending the event. A priority issue to be discussed is the greenhouse effect.

We must all cooperate to reduce greenhouse gas. Global temperatures should be reduced by 2-3 degrees Celsius.

Otherwise, our polar ice caps will melt and sea levels will rise. You already know this fact. Therefore, greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 40%.

I will not go into details about greenhouse gas or the greenhouse effect.

But the amount of greenhouse gas each country releases is not the same. We need to look at circumstances of each country as well.

The Greenhouse effect impacts many issues such as health and agriculture.

It also affects droughts and flooding. Because Thailand is an agricultural country, there will be a lot of impact on us.

Thailand is encountering shortages of water, less frequent rain, and other abnormalities. We must be well prepared to deal with these problems.

Our lands, water, and air all belong to mankind, so everyone has to cooperate more to safeguard them.

As for public administration, I would like to place emphasis on the work of civil servants.

You need to seek cooperation from the public. You need to consider how to integrate work and collaborate as there are many ministries, clusters and stakeholders.

We have to remove obstacles to cooperation, otherwise, the government will not be able to make any decisions, given that each ministry has its own laws and regulations. For instance we are now focusing on fixing problems and obstacles in the trade and investment sector.

I would like to put extra emphasis on coordination between various agencies because I think it has been a long-standing problem.

We have to accept that for many years, a number of the country’s problems have not been solved and ignored, with some efforts taken not in the peoples interest, but only for certain groups.

At the same time there are many things that have been achieved that have not been followed up on.

Most of these have been for popularity or vested interests. Therefore, the public did not really benefit from them.

However the government and NCPO are currently implementing measures for real public benefit, so we seek cooperation from all levels. What we will be working on next is within the timeframe of the Roadmap and we try to complete everything by July 2017.

The first matter is the development of human resources, education, jobs, income, innovation, research and development in a concerted manner that complements the countries needs. So social welfare and empowering communities is the first important issue.

The second matter regards the economy, which needs restructuring throughout in the next 20 years.

There has been no major economic restructuring for the past 20 years so today we are moving forward with new economic policies, whether they are for investments or ease of doing business.

There are many issues that are underway particularly in the industrial sector. We are developing five traditional industries and adding five new industries to accommodate our future plans and our goal to be a hub in ASEAN.

We are placing emphasis on the digital economy in our new projects. All this will be promoted in our Special Economic Zones, as well as in our clusters and superclusters.

I’ve placed emphasis on community and social enterprises that will empower the people and add income and improve competitiveness. This must be met with reform of various cooperatives and state enterprises. Furthermore we must develop our central data system or Data Centre within the ICT Ministry, especially for progress in our developments plans.

The third matter is concerns the law, the bureaucracy, and the judicial system, where the aim is to create more clarity, provide fairness and to take care of low income earners in accessing the judicial process.

This also includes sustainable efforts to tackle corruption.

The first step is to prevent legal loopholes that allow for exploitation.

Most importantly, we must instill a sense of good governance both among the people and within our institutions. We are working on this now, with efforts to develop ethics and improve government services as well as appropriate decentralization of power to maintain balance in administrative management between the central government, the various regions and communities.

The fourth matter is regarding public health services. How can we reduce disparities in this sector? This sector requires substantive spending without compromise to efficiency. Also on the matter of health insurance, I want to enhance participation from all sides in order to enhance the efficiency of public health services to cover all segments of society, particularly those with low income.

The Fifth matter is regarding national security and the reduction of social disparities with regards to access to natural resources. This is an urgent matter, particularly the revamping of social norms and the reorganization of commercial land. A key issue has been dealing with encroachments into forest land and how we must systematically expropriate these territories.

I would like to inform you that I have seen many problems in many areas and provinces, with many people under distress. I have instructed that these problems must first be solved through political and legal means. We should start with legislation and consider whether there are appropriate laws. We must be able to move forward with just laws.

I am reluctant to move anyone from these lands. However some forest lands need to be preserved and this can be done through the commission on land management based on the guidelines that have been given. Those encroaching in forest areas must first be put into the system so that they can be given proper assistance. Please consider this approach and refrain from causing distress.

On the matter of restructuring our agricultural sector, this is very important due to our limited water supply and the effects of climate change. Therefore, zoning laws must reflect the use of water -efficient crops while enhancing production output. This is a matter that His Majesty the King had instructed long ago. There must be a way of integrated water management. Previously the approaches used were not systematized, which has led to the problems we are encountering today.

The sixth matter regards tourism, sports, cultural affairs and promoting Thainess. Today we have implemented new measures, including tourism cooperation with our neighbors through given that each ministry has its own laws and regulations. For instance we are now focusing on fixing problems and obstacles in the trade and investment sector.

I would like to put extra emphasis on coordination between various agencies because I think it has been a long-standing problem.

We have to accept that for many years, a number of the country’s problems have not been solved and ignored, with some efforts taken not in the peoples interest, but only for certain groups.

At the same time there are many things that have been achieved that have not been followed up on.

Most of these have been for popularity or vested interests. Therefore, the public did not really benefit from them.

The sixth matter regards tourism, sports, cultural affairs and promoting Thainess. Today we have implemented new measures, including tourism cooperation with our neighbors through packages that involve transportation by land, sea or air. In the future we might be able to drive to visit other countries through scenic highways, perhaps even driving to Vietnam by next year.

Regarding cooperation between the five ‘rivers’ or channels of reform, I’ve continually spoken of this matter. We will continue to coordinate our work and consultations.

Most important is the matter of national reform, which should have a 20 year strategy with room for assessment every five years.

This should be in line with the first phase of reforms that we have undertaken. We are currently working on these to be completed by July of 2017. The next phases will be passed on to subsequent administrations.

After 20 years we shall examine our progress. We must plan a future for our people, and for foreigners to be confident in, whether it is in trade, investments, and other matters.

I would like to ask for cooperation from the government, officials, the private sector, civil society and NGOs. We must think of comprehensive solutions to our problems, especially those that affect low-income earners.

We must provide them with education, knowledge, professions, and adequate income, so they can maintain sufficiency and then incrementally develop and prosper. This way, the country will be more secure and stable.

Regarding the implementation of policies, I don’t to want to see the emergence of budgetary problems after they have already been thought out and planned, especially since all policies are inter-related through the bureaucracy, central government, and local administration.

When you meet with the people, you must be able to explain the policies to them. I’ve been addressing this matter for more than two years. Sometimes when you are not fully aware of them and the policies are carried out incorrectly, the public are distressed and then express their dissatisfaction with the government,

even though it is not my intention to create further problems.

Nevertheless, we must respect the laws while finding ways not to cause any distress to the people.

Regarding the recent OTOP to AEC Fair that we have held next to Government House, the event was attended by over 250,000 visitors with an estimated 75 million baht in sales.

I would like to congratulate all of the vendors who participated. Perhaps the only drawback was that no one wanted to eat at the government house cafeteria as a result.

On the matter of the various problems we are facing – if we don’t address them at the root cause, we will not be able to solve them comprehensively.

However solving problems at the root cause also requires a comprehensive evaluation of the various institutions and stakeholders involved.

Because these problems are related to each other, so are the laws that cover them. That is why today we have amended many laws, while finding ways to appropriately manage the issues, focusing on the “How to do” as I often say.

I think the public should cooperate and participate more in solving problems so that they know their own future. It goes without saying that this must be in accordance with the laws. But some groups still prefer to oppose every government effort, which has resulted in delays for certain projects.

NGOs can also help with this, as low income earners should be given an opportunity to elevate their income. If we are not able to provide them with income in addition to farming, what are they going to do in the future?

There must be certain industries that arise in key areas. However if every proposal by the government is opposed, many people will only have farming to rely on and then will not be able to free themselves from debt. I would like to ask for cooperation from all sides on this.

There’s been restructuring in many areas which have resulted in more cleanliness and tidiness, such as the Ong Ang canal. There will be other areas to be reorganized. I empathize with those that have been afflicted by this but the laws must be followed.

I have asked for the Department of Trade under the Ministry of Commerce to relocate various vendors. Based on surveys, many of the vendors in these areas are just expansions from their original shops. A lot of the people who open shops are from rural areas. I sympathize with these people; however reorganizing must still be done.

Regarding national security, everyone knows about the global situation at the moment. We must, therefore, be prepared and remain vigilant and coordinate with authorities. There is no need to be anxious, however.

At the same time, we must be good hosts to our foreign guests during this high season. Meanwhile we shall do our best to thwart those who wish us ill or cause us harm.

Thank you very much. I would like to wish everyone happiness during the weekend. The government and NCPO are concerned for everyone, especially your safety and well-being.

In this past week, I’ve met with the private sector from over 33 countries and 9000 companies.

They are happy to be in Thailand and want to continue to expand their businesses. However we must continue with our efforts to accommodate doing business in Thailand, whether it is through legal reforms or through agreements.

Some remaining issues are not in accordance with international standards because they have not been addressed by previous governments.

So, I will try to correct as much as I can for the benefit of the country and the people.

Thank you and goodbye