Survey shows majority wants Thai cabinet reshuffled

BANGKOK, August 16 (TNA) - A new survey by Suan Dusit Poll has shown up to 64.1 percent of the people in Thailand agree the current cabinet of Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha should be reshuffled due to a number of unresolved problems, especially on deteriorating national economy and rising costs of living. General Prayut had previously denied press reports that he planned to reshuffle his cabinet, formed last September following a bloodless coup. But he recently admitted the upcoming reshuffle would be seen in every ministry. According to Suan Dusit Poll, most of the respondents agreed that ministers for finance, commerce as well as agriculture and cooperatives should be reshuffled most. Separately, the NIDA Poll by the prestigious National Institute of Development Administration in Bangkok had conducted a poll on another hot issue raised by the Constitution Drafting Committee recently that a “national committee on reform and reconciliation strategy” ought to be established and empowered to intervene in any event before it leads to violence in the country. Up to 63.93 percent of the total respondents agreed with the idea as they believed such committee could create national reconciliation and become a major mechanism to resolve conflicts. On a proposal to have a government for national reconciliation responsible for resolving the country’s problems for another four years after promulgation of the new constitution, 75.8 percent of the total respondents agreed that a public referendum should be conducted in order to allow the people to participate on the issue. Meanwhile, up to 52.63 percent of the total respondents proposed that a government for national reconciliation should be established, while 12.66 percent disagreed as they believed an elected government is more preferable and a general election should be organised soonest. The respondents also believed that a government for national reconciliation should stay in power between one or two years. (TNA)