The PM said his administration would comply with the new monarch’s intention to follow in his father’s footsteps in developing the country.

“His Majesty the King talked to certain Cabinet members and suggested that the government should do their duty to make the people happy as much as possible under his reign. He said that the guidelines suggested by the King Father over the 70 years of his reign must be fully followed,” Prayut said.

He added that the new monarch’s particular areas of concern were education, human-resource development, public health, job creation and quality of life, in addition to ensuring peace in society.

“We all would like to meet the intention of His Majesty the new King, with the use of the King’s science suggested by King Rama IX. This is a great royal kindness for the people,” the prime minister said.

Prayut also said that King Bhumibol had advocated sufficiency-economy principles and development based on both Western and oriental ways, in order to ensure sustainability.

“Development in the oriental style may be slow, but we can be sure of sustainability and stability,” he added.

The premier was speaking at a meeting of state agency chiefs, state enterprise executives and provincial governors on government policies regarding state budgeting for the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years.

At the event, which was held at Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi province, participants were encouraged to prepare their projects in line with the government’s 20-year master plan for strategic development.

Meanwhile, prominent social critic Prawase Wasi yesterday said members of the public needed to make use of King Bhumibol’s teachings and guidelines, which were based on his experiences during a seven-decade reign.

Prawase said that thanks to his actual experiences with problems in rural areas, the late King had a good understanding of development in a balanced and integrated manner. He said the sufficiency-economy philosophy was just one example of King Bhumibol’s teachings that had been put into practice and yielded actual results.

Prawase, who serves as a board member of Mahidol University, made the comments during a speech at an event to mark the 47th anniversary of the establishment of the university’s Faculty of Social Science and Humanities.

Regarding the government policy of handing out money to the poor, he said he did not think this would help ease the problem of inequality.

“It’s like giving paracetamol to patients to treat their severe pain,” he suggested.