The premier and Government Spokesperson Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd had previously locked horns with the media after Sansern asked them ahead of the Cabinet meeting last week for “cooperation” by reporting the work of Cabinet members as they tended to focus heavily on the PM.

Sansern, who is also head of the Public Relations Department, said he viewed the work done by other Cabinet members as also worth disseminating to the public, so that the public could learn more about the government’s work.

His proposition was slammed by some media members as intervening in the media’s work.

Prayut said he could not however accept this excuse, stressing that while the media tended to claim that they work for the public interest, they apparently fail to report on the government’s work when asked to do so.

He said he had not asked the media to “advertise” the government or try to convince people to love him, as he did not like “sweet words”, but he merely wished the media would cover what his Cabinet members had been working on, so that people would better understand the situation.

If the media failed to deliver this information, would the public interest be truly served in the way that they claim to pursue, he asked during the media interview.

The tense mood during the session seemed to subside, however, when he walked towards the group of media representatives and took photos with them.