BANGKOK
Junta chief-cum-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has trumpeted his six months of "success," a broadcast on government television detailing his major achievements on political and economic fronts.
The general took to the airwaves for an hour Friday to announce "the bright future Thailand will have in years to come.”
“On the economic front, short term stimulus measures will be launched and budget disbursement will be accelerated. Things are improving. The consumers’ confidence index is rising and the industrial sector is expanding,” he stated.
The proclamations were in stark contrast to those of several analysts who have been sounding alarm bells of late on what they consider to be the worrying state of the Thai economy.
Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakul shared Chan-ocha’s optimism, however, adding in a presentation that followed the speech that the economy would grow by at least 3 percent in the first quarter of this year, driven by a rise in tourism.
A further focus of Chan-ocha's speech was power granted to him under a new constitution - a draft of which was submitted Friday to the 250-member junta-approved National Reform Council for approval.
Martial law, imposed May 20 - two days before a coup that overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra - was lifted April 1, but immediately replaced by a clause in the interim constitution – article 44 - that gives near-absolute power to Chan-ocha.
Chan-ocha said Friday that he would use the powers granted to him by the article for “the betterment of the country.”
“The more you criticize me, the stricter I will be,” he warned.
Analysts have said Thailand’s economy is facing its most difficult period since the financial crash of 1997.
Household debt has risen to more than 25 percent of total income, exports contracted by 4 percent in the first quarter of 2015 and domestic consumption is sluggish.
The economy is also yet to kick on from the billions of dollars of infrastructure projects launched by the junta.
On Thursday, Thanawat Polvichai, director of the Economic and Business Forecast Centre at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, told a conference “all the economics engines [of the country] have stopped functioning.”
Thailand is facing “its worst economic outlook in 40 years,” he added.
