Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has called on business leaders to work with the government during these times of economic hardship, especially in helping small and medium businesses.
Gen Prayut said the government had worked hard to improve the economy, which had been hit hard by the global economic crisis and, at home, by the populist policies of previous governments.
"The implementation of Section 44 is meant to preserve the country's stability," Gen Prayut said in his keynote speech at a conference titled "The Prime Minister meets the Chambers of Commerce: Unity in driving Thailand's economy towards stability, prosperity and sustainability", hosted by the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) in Bangkok on Saturday.
The decree also supports working groups to function effectively to solve problems related to human trafficking and illegal fishery, he added.
But he said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) might not be able to wait for government's measures to take effect so the TCC should provide them with support during the slow economic recovery.
Gen Prayut's call came after the Bank of Thailand last week voiced concerns over the plight of SMEs at a meeting with commercial banks, during which it also urged them to pass on its policy rate cut to help ease businesses' financial pressure.
The prime minister said the government had been promoting stronger links with four neighbouring countries — Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar — in a bid to boost trading activities to help improve Thailand's liquidity and, in the long run, to enhance regional development.
Gen Prayut suggested the TCC members should seek to reap more benefits from the government's special economic zones in Thailand's border provinces. They should not just set up factories but also invest on other business activities such as food processing, logistics expansion and service sector development.
The sluggish global and regional economies had dented people's income, he said. But Thailand had escaped a first-quarter contraction with growth supported by the continued recovery in private consumption, an acceleration of public investment and the resilience of tourism.
The National Economic and Social Development Board recently reported 0.3% quarter-on-quarter growth on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first three months, down from the final quarter's 1.7%. But the economy grew by 3% year-on-year, an improvement from 2.1% posted in last year's fourth quarter.
Gen Prayut also blamed past distorted economic policies, particularly the rice-pledging and first-time car buyer schemes, for hurting economic development. Illegal activities tolerated by previous elected governments also contributed directly to the drop in people's income.
"[People's income] has certainly vanished because of sales of unlawful goods, influential figures, gambling dens, brothels and malpractice of [services offered by] motorcycle taxis and vans," he said.
"People have become used to this for decades since elected governments could not enforce the rule of law because they would subsequently lose their voting popularity."
On the political situation, he said foreign countries had focused too much on the timing of Thailand's general election, which he said could lead to the return of turbulence. "Do foreigners want to wear helmets when going to the government house and other ministries?" he asked.
Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said at the same event that the economy had bottomed out since last year's second half. But people are still pessimistic because of falling income, a decline in farm prices and household indebtedness.
Thailand's GDP growth this year could still expand by 3.5-4% given additional public budget disbursement, greater private investment and cuts in commercial banks' lending rates, he said.