PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday apologised for losing his temper in public and scolding journalists, spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said, adding the premier was under pressure as if he was left to walk alone.

“The prime minister asked me to convey to media and people that he regretted his outburst on Tuesday,” he said. He was also worried [about public sentiment], but we also should understand that he is working under pressure due to high expectations of the people.”

Asked why Prayut had not apologised to the public personally, Sansern said the premier was busy and he needed more time to think about the matter.

Reporters at Government House said Prayut remained in his office the whole day and allowed only Army chief Theerachai Nakvanich to meet him yesterday.

Although Prayut has tended to lose his temper in public while giving press interviews, Tuesday’s outburst exceeded his previous bouts of anger.

One of the prime minister’s New Year resolutions was to try to be a “good guy” at least in the eyes of the mass media by avoiding hot-tempered exchange of words with critical reporters. That resolution seems to have been broken whenPrayut was furious when asked about the draft charter and election road map issues.

During the February 2 encounter, Prayut was visiting a number of booths at Government House highlighting innovative creations from various government units before the weekly Cabinet meeting. He was apparently not in a good mood as observed by some Government House reporters.

While responding to a question/answer session following the Cabinet meeting in the afternoon,Prayut lashed out after hearing a comment by Meechai Ruchupan, chairman of the charter drafting commission, who said if the new charter did not pass in the referendum, the country might have to use a much tougher version of the highest law.

The premier was also upset about a question on whether the new constitution court would have too much power. He banged on his podium twice to the surprise of many reporters. He also complained that his government had been working hard over the past two years but the media still do not trust his sincerity.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office has begun restructuring its publicity strategy by stressing proactive methods and opting for more online and social media channels to reach the masses.

The restructuring project is called the “State’s PR is Sincere and Determined to Dispel Public Problems and Boost Wellbeing”.

PM’s Office Minister Panadda Diskul has instructed the government’s PR Department and the Office of the PM’s Permanent Secretary to have all state PR agencies change their approach.

The PR offices are required to analyse the social, economic and political situation regularly and use this analysis to help ward off problems in according with government instructions.

The PR offices must redefine their strategy so as to project a good image of state agencies and the country, as well as improve or develop websites and publicise their work on Facebook and other social media outlets. They are also required to have information ready to provide to the public or those interested in the work of the agencies.

Under the guidelines, the offices are also required to monitor and evaluate daily news related to their agencies and provide reports to their superiors.

They must also deal with negative publicity via an integrated system to minimise the damage.

People can visit new websites, such as govchannel.go.th, to access information on state agencies, while an application detailing government services called GAC can be downloaded via iTunes or the Android app store. Other gadgets are also available via the government kiosk. A video clip providing more information can be watched at https://youtu.be/7lLIndArZ60.

He said the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) had rejected the draft on grounds of clarity, adding that the EC had two months to revise the regulations.

Somchai went on to explain that the EC had four options in dealing with the clarity issue, adding that if the criteria and voting methods for a public referendum in the interim charter were not clear, then the government should ask the drafters of this charter to explain the regulations.

He said it was necessary for the drafters to clarify whether they wanted a majority of eligible voters or the majority of the ballots cast to determine the win.

If the government does not wish to amend the interim charter on this point, then it should seek a Constitutional Court ruling, he said, adding that the government could ask the NLA to amend the interim charter to clarify this point.

If the government does nothing to deal with this ambiguity, it could result in negative consequences, as voters will wonder about the results of them exercising their vote.

Somchai said he believes the NLA should not have rejected the EC’s proposal, and instead rewritten it because drafting regulations was the assembly’s job.

The EC will meet on February 9 to discuss its next move.

Somchai went on to say that Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam had told the EC earlier that he would discuss the issue, but had not set a date yet.

Separately, the EC rejected former EC secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong’s appeal against his dismissal and is suing him for libel instead.

EC specialist Thanit Sriprathet said the commission had its legal division file a complaint at Thung Song Hong police station on Monday accusing Puchong of defamation. Puchong’s contract was terminated after he allegedly failed an annual performance evaluation and frequently delayed the completion of his work.

Puchong then turned to the media, saying he had been dismissed due to a conflict of interest over the printing of the previous draft charter. He also called on anti-corruption bodies to check the printing process for the sake of transparency.

The EC, meanwhile, is seeking applications for Puchong’s replacement. Applicants are expected to be politically neutral, honest, between the age of 45 and 65, experienced in management and have achievements.

Those who qualify include the deputy director-generals of state agencies, deputy governors and deputy secretary-general who have been at the post for no less than two years.

Those from the private sectors must show evidence that they have managed companies earning a revenue of more than Bt2 billion a year.

Those ineligible include political party members, party founders or those who have held positions in political parties over the past five years. Applications will be accepted from February 8.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan also said reform plans would help concerned agencies including the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to accomplish a peaceful transitional period and the 20-year national strategic plan.

Prayut made the remarks after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday, during which the Cabinet was scheduled to look at the charter’s content to determine its own recommendations for the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC). However, Cabinet members decided to submit their version after next week’s meeting.

Prayut said reform schemes should be enforced through laws, procedures and measures, but more importantly they should be in line with the 20-year national strategy as well as the National Economic and Social Development plan prepared by the Office of the National Economics and Social Development Board.

“There is no hidden agenda to grab power [but] the reform plans should be carried out,” he said.

The plans as well as the timetable for implementation should be stipulated in the transitory provisions or relevant organic laws,Prayut said, explaining that he did not want the charter to be amended too often.

Also, he said he wanted the legal and justice systems to be improved, confidence among independent agencies boosted, and measures to limit future conflicts specified in the charter draft. These are the root problem areas, he added.

He expressed satisfaction with the charter in general, and said it did not limit people’s rights and freedoms as has been expressed by some people.

Among other concerns including the PM’s access to power, Prayut said he wanted the charter to be in line with international norms and urged people not to worry.

“The political sector would be the one which chooses prime ministerial [candidates]. Don’t be afraid or worried about it. And don’t choose me. I won’t let them choose me,” Prayut added, referring to concerns that the new PM’s access to power would allow an “outsider” to enter politics.

Despite chief drafter Meechai Ruchupan’s opinion that the road map might be extended, the prime minister yesterday stood firm saying the election would take place in July of next year and the results, as well as the establishment of a new government, could be expected no later than September. “The sooner, the better,” he said.

He said he wanted as many people as possible to exercise their voting rights on the date of the referendum.

However, he declined to reveal his back-up plan to proceed with the election next year if the draft charter does not pass a referendum, saying that if he made his plans public then his opponents could use them against him.

The Cabinet’s collective recommendations on the charter draft will be submitted to the CDC by February 14 as the prime minister attends a US-Asean meeting in the United States.

Meanwhile, CDC chairman Meechai said criticism of the draft had not discouraged him. Many critical comments had been made out of mere “aversion” without considering the draft, he said, but added that he did not know how to solve the problem.

However, he added, the CDC was trying to listen to and gather all comments, including those made on social media forums such as Facebook.

Regarding comments about the limitations of rights and freedoms in the current draft, Meechai said he wanted everyone to understand that the CDC had just taken a different approach to writing a constitution for the sake of the people, who would be able to enjoy their rights and liberties.

The CDC will meet the National Legislative Assembly and the National Reform Steering Assembly today to discuss the content of the charter before both bodies make their own recommendations by next week.

He was responding to an incident yesterday when United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leader Jatuporn Prompan was escorted by military officials to the First Army Region after he announced he would campaign to have the public reject the draft in a referendum.

Prawit said methods used to criticise the charter must be civilised. “Do not use a word such as dictatorship. Do not meddle in the National Council for Peace and Order work. It is not the time to instigate protests or rallies,” he said.

He added that the government would “invite” anyone to have their attitude adjusted if they continued to misbehave.

He said critics of the charter draft must use reason and not instigate conflicts. “The charter is important and they should criticise the intention behind having this version of the draft. The country is in a transition, we must have an internationally accepted charter.”

He said political parties could announce their stances over whether they would accept or reject the charter draft if they resorted to logic and did not just insult it. “The Constitution Drafting Commission [CDC] are senior figures of the country that deserve respect and moral support. They have the intention to make the country move forward and not to bully anyone. What is clear in the charter is an anti-graft mechanism. It is an acceptable version to me. The CDC has tried its best drafting it,” he said.

Responding to concern that the writing of organic charter laws would delay the election, the deputy PM insisted that the democracy roadmap would not be deferred and the general election must be held next year.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party deputy leader Ong-art Klampaiboon said his party would not team up with the Pheu Thai Party to oppose the charter.

Pheu Thai Party caretaker secretary general Phumtham Wechayachai had said Pheu Thai would ask the Democrats to join forces to reject the draft.

Ong-art said the draft had not been finalised and he believed it would be improved after a review.

Col Winthai Suvaree, spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said he had received a report that the summons was due to Jatuporn’s frequently expressed opinions about the recently released draft charter.

For instance, Jatuporn had condemned the draft for “robbing rights from people”, Winthai said, adding that statement showed |”inappropriate”, mixed-up views on politics and the charter agendas.

However, a source from the First Army Area said Jatuporn was wanted for comparing soldiers to troublesome hooligans during an appearance on Peace TV

This was despite a previous promise to officers to curb his rhetoric, the source said.

Jatuporn told The Nation after meeting with the military that the summons might have been prompted by his response to a statement by Wanchai Sornsiri, a member of the National Reform Steering Assembly, who had said on TV that politicians objecting to the draft were merely “ghosts shuddering due to holy water”.

“I then said that he was rather a ‘dog shuddering due to hot water’,” Jatuporn said.

“I was talking about Wanchai, but it seems the military took that I meant the premier.”

“Tell me how this draft is cruel,” the premier said at his weekly press briefing when asked of his thoughts of comments by the Constitution Drafting Commission chairman Meechai Ruchupan, who said that the ’more cruel version of charter’ would be active if this draft is voted down in a national referendum.

“They talk about the new authority of the Constitution Court. They say it will be overwhelming. But tell me, who else will end all the crises?” Prayut continued. “The Court could do nothing prior to May 22 [2014], and I had to come to put an end to it. Did I ever want to?” he exclaimed.

The premier’s mood in the morning was already soured by the media questions in regard to the water management plan, but PM Prayut stopped short to say anything, when asked what set him off. “Stupid. Try finding an answer yourself (rather than asking everything). Aren’t you all already smart?” Read the news. I do, and that’s why I know things,” he uttered in a verbal tirade.

A source close to the premier said that Prayut was irritated by news on the charter draft and election, as well as reshuffle of permanent civil servants, especially military officers.

On the same day, Government Spokesperson Maj General Sansern Kaewkamnerd asked media to lift their working standards and reform themselves.

They should also not let people with hidden agendas manipulate them to spread distorted information, that will only destroy the Kingdom’s images, Sansern said.

The media should also be more careful with reporting, he said.

“For instance, discussions on the charter draft via the media were shallow, without attempts to understand that it is designed to prevent [political] conflicts,” he said.

The group strongly disapproved of the draft, and noted four major flaws, after the Constitution Drafting Commission led by Meechai Ruchupan completed its first version of a new charter with 270 Articles.

The group said firstly, the draft deprived people of their rights and liberty – unlike previous charters that had given the people a right to manage natural resources and the environment.

Second, it said the draft reduced the power of the people and their political participation, as well as their power of checks and balances. The proposed election system would weaken political parties and enable extra-constitutional powers to interfere in the political system, it said.

Third, it said the draft provided too much power to the Constitutional Court and independent agencies to check elected governments.

Fourth, it gave immense power to the Senate, which could appoint members to independent agencies. However, the Senate was not accountable or linked to the people because it was not directly elected by them.

“These four flaws reflect the fact that the charter draft seeks to reduce the power of the people and empower the elite or the leading class. This charter belongs only to a small group of people, not people nationwide. If the draft were put to use, it would plunge the country into a violent, deep and complicated division.”

Former National Reform Council member Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, who led the political reform committee of the now-defunct council, said that if the Meechai charter draft was approved, it would be torn up because it was almost impossible to amend it.

Article 23 stipulated that to amend the charter, more than half the total votes of Parliament were needed and one-third of the Senate must support the amendment. And, more than 10 per cent of political parties that have more than 10 MP seats must support the charter amendment.

The charter draft also required a public referendum to be held if the amendment touches on the essence of the charter.

“This type of charter cannot bring about reconciliation and it has too many hidden agendas,” he said.