After being voted in to resume his premiership on Wednesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday promised to do his best for the country, the monarch, the people, and all religions within the nation.
Gen Prayut grinned but refused to talk to media about the job ahead. He showed a piece of paper with his handwriting and let deputy government spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipak read it to the press.
The message said that he [Gen Prayut] was grateful to MPs and senators for supporting him and pointed out the majority of the House of Representatives voted in his favour, emphasising his clean victory even without the help of the Senate.
While attending a meeting in preparation for the 34th Asean Summit which will be held between June 20-23 in Bangkok, he said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, last year's chair of Asean, had called to congratulate him.
He thanked his Singaporean counterpart and promised to accomplish what he had vowed during previous meetings.
According to Lt Gen Werachon, Gen Prayut's message also extended his gratitude to the House Speaker, Senate Speaker and members of both Houses for their support and cooperation for the smooth session on Wednesday.
"The prime minister stressed the majority votes first came from House of Representatives and then were combined with the votes from senators, creating a total of 500 votes. This is in line with the rules," the deputy government spokesman said.
The prime minister also thanked some MPs who despite not voting for him performed their duties well, he said.
"From now on, everyone should join hands for the benefits of the country and people,'' Lt Gen Werachon quoted Gen Prayut saying.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam announced yesterday the House Speaker had submitted the name of Gen Prayut for royal endorsement.
The next step will be for the new prime minister to form the government, Mr Wissanu said, adding that no time frame has been fixed.
Afterwards, the new premier will send a line-up of cabinet ministers to the cabinet secretary-general to check their qualifications.
That could take some time, Mr Wissanu said.
While the government formation is in progress, the coalition parties should formulate policies which the government will pursue, Mr Wissanu added.
