More than 85% of Thai people support the use of special powers under Section 44 of the interim constitution to tackle corruption, a Suan Dusit Rajabhat University poll shows.
The poll, involving interviews with 1,180 people from Feb 20-24, showed 86.6% of respondents were satisfied with the invocation of Section 44 to stamp out graft, followed by mafia eradication (80.7%), illicit drug suppression (74.8%), police reshuffles (72%), and moves to regulate society (68.5%).
Section 44, dubbed the "dictator clause", gives the head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) sweeping power to take action on matters he deems urgent. Since the interim charter took effect in mid-2014, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his role as the NCPO chief, has invoked the section numerous times, most recently to sack the board of the chronically loss-ridden State Railway of Thailand this week.
The Suan Dusit pollsters also asked respondents to suggest other areas where Section 44 might be applied. They found that 78.3% wanted the government to use special powers under Section 44 to provide social welfare security for people from birth to retirement age, followed by dealing with brutal and violent acts that caused fear in society (73.8%), improving traffic, town planning and mass transport development (62.7%), dealing with cases that affect natural resources and the environment (61.8%) and addressing misconduct such as brawling youth, online game addiction and improper use of social media (55.6%).
Eighty-three percent of respondents said that when he does use Section 44, Gen Prayut should apply it in a transparent and fair manner.