The concern was raised yesterday in TJA’s monthly executive board meeting after the government spokesperson’s team came up with new guidelines for media questions at Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s regular weekly press briefing. The rules stated that journalists could now only ask a maximum of four questions each time. They must also use the microphone to announce who they are and the organisations they represent.

“The board thinks limiting it to a maximum of four questions to be asked is too few. It could be considered as limiting the media’s rights and freedoms in questioning the government’s administration”, said the TJA’s vice president for press freedom and media reform and its spokesman Manop Thip-Osod.

The instructions were puzzling as the journalists could easily come up with more than four questions that the government team set as a limit, he said.

However, the board was not worried about the new guidelines asking journalists to introduce themselves before interviews, as this was an international practice, he said.

He added the board predicted the rules would not last long because it’s not practical.

The TJA board also disagreed with the idea that the journalists should have to submit questions in advance.

“It is the PM’s right to decide if he would answer a particular enquiry or not,” he said.