He said the situation at that time was so volatile that royal emblem stamps for royal endorsement had to be moved out of Government House for safety reasons.

“It was the first time in history that His Majesty the King’s royal emblem stamp needed to be stored elsewhere outside the Government House,” Wissanu recalled the country’s pre-coup atmosphere.

He described as a “near-failed state” the situation before the coup, when governmental offices were forced to be closed due to occupation by protesters.

Wissanu was speaking during the government’s report on its performance over the past two years. He claimed the government could issue more laws than any of its recent predecessors.

“There were emergency decree and martial law but no one cared,” he said, adding that there was severe division and all mechanisms were not functioning.

“Eventually there was a coup and the situations was settled down. We could go fetch the stamps three days after the coup,” he said.

At the same event, Wissanu said the junta has advanced the country by passing important laws, addressing urgent grievances and restoring national peace and the “sacredness” of the legal system.

He said four previous governments from 2008 to 2014 passed only 120 bills, but the NCPO-backed government had passed 187 bills. Wissanu said the government also invoked Article 44 of the interim charter to issue 104 orders to tackle minor problems. “These laws are mechanisms we rely on in steering the country on a solid path. In terms of legislation, we have not only quantity but quality control,” he said.

Another 100 pieces of charter-related legislation including the all- important Conflict of Interests bill will be passed next year, he said. “This bill is formidable because it targets not only ministers but government officials who sponsor bills that are only in their interests, not those of the country,” he said.