He said that his questions were aimed at sounding out views from the public regarding political matters.

Prayut gave a speech at Khon Kaen University on implementing the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy in the Northeast amid tight security in the auditorium. At the same venue in 2014, shortly after the military coup, a small group of students staged a protest against the power seizure led by Prayut, then the Army chief.

In the latter part of his speech, the prime minister encouraged questions from the audience and suggestions as to what the government should do to solve their problems.

He also asked his audience not to hate the military or the post-coup government. “I would like to be the prime minister for everyone. All of us should help to avoid conflicts,” Prayut said.

“Please do not hate the military. Certainly some soldiers are bad, but there are bad fish in every occupation. In fact, there are more good people than bad ones,” he said.