PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday urged Thais to show their allegiance to the next royal head of state while still remembering the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
“We have to do more good deeds in memory of His Majesty the King. I believe His Majesty is still with us somewhere – in the sky, in the water or on the land that he helped restore and preserve. I ask everyone to always remember His Majesty,” Prayut said.
“And also, we should show our allegiance to the next king, Rama X,” he added, referring to the 10th monarch of the Chakri Dynasty.
The prime minister was speaking to local residents and officials during his visit to Pathum Thani, where he inspected a royal project and the progress of a water management plan.
He said the Thais should also look outward in order to deal with global problems that have an impact on the country.
“The world has several issues involving the economy, terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics and changes. We need to look at the outside world, and not just at ourselves. I admire the way we deal with internal problems. We have achieved satisfactory success but I hope we will do better,” General Prayut said.
“We have to work together to overcome the obstacles,” he added.
Meanwhile, the government has called on all Thais to join nationwide activities to be held on Tuesday in memory of the late King.
Government House will be the main venue for the activity, to be led by PM Prayut. People from all over the country can take part at designated venues in their respective provinces, Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday.
“The prime minister would lead his Cabinet members and government officials to sing the National Anthem at 8am on Tuesday. Then he will lead the participants to take an oath of allegiance in front of His Majesty’s portrait and sing the Royal Anthem,” said Sansern.
The spokesman said the event at Government House would be broadcast live from 6.30am. Thais living abroad can hold commemorative activities on Sunday or |any day of their convenience, he added.
Mourners heading to the Grand Palace to bid a final farewell to the monarch can also join the PM-led activity, as the city administration will arrange a venue for the participants, Prime Minister’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said.
“The additional activity at Sanam Luang will not affect the mourners queuing to enter the Grand Palace,” Suwapan, who also serves as secretary of the government’s Command Centre for Monitoring Situations, told a press briefing yesterday.
Regarding traffic management, of the 27 roads around Sanam Luang that were closed on previous weekends, only eight will be closed today and tomorrow, Suwapan said. The decision came after the centre assessed traffic volume in the area and found no mass event being held near the Grand Palace this weekend which could obstruct transportation for the mourners, he explained.
Suwapan asked people not to park their vehicles along roads around Sanam Luang and instead use public transportation or free shuttle buses to travel to the Grand Palace.
Deputy national police spokesman Pol Maj-General Piyapan Pingmuang yesterday confirmed that only eight roads adjacent to the Grand Palace that were closed to traffic to accommodate mourners would stay off-limits for vehicles.
He said the lifting of 27 road-closures came as “things have fallen into place”.
Updates on the matter are available at the Traffic Police Division’s website, http://www.trafficpolice.go.th, and its hotline 1197, according to the spokesman. Suwapan yesterday said that in an attempt to manage long queues and the huge numbers of people heading to Sanam Luang, the centre in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society had finished developing an online reservation system for queue management.
The online system will be tested on December 1, he said, adding the implementation plan has not yet rolled out and is pending further discussion.
Regarding the issue of homeless people around Sanam Luang, Suwapan said their number has decreased due to the cooperation of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.
According to the ministry statement issued yesterday, tactics used to tackle the homeless vary. These include sending them back to their original residence, to the ministry shelter Ban Mit Maitree for rehabilitation, or to related organisations for proper treatment.