Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha shrugged off an opinion poll saying a 41% plurality of Thais are totally unaware of his ambitious <i>Thai Niyom Yangyuen</i> programme.
Gen Prayut said Tuesday the survey findings depended on who the respondents were.
"We have to accept that people will be interested in the issues involving themselves. [Surveyors need to] ask people in areas where the project will be implemented to get accurate information," he said.
The survey, asking respondents what they thought about the Thai Niyom Yangyuen (Sustained Thai-ness) programme versus the Pracha Niyom populist programme, was carried out by Nida Poll.
According to the findings, 32% said they were aware of the Thai Niyom Yangyuen programme, while 27% admitted they had heard about it but had no idea what it was all about.
Thai Niyom Yangyuen programme loosely translates to sustainable Thai-style development.
In a related development, the prime minister launched the "Thai Niyom Direct Line" for the public to submit complaints or suggestions, which will reportedly go directly to the premier.
Designed as an online platform, the general public can download a mobile application, visit its Facebook page, or go to its website to share their information or register grievances with Gen Prayut.
According to its Facebook page, "Thai Niyom Direct Line" is intended to complement the government 1111 hotline and other channels such as the Damrongtham centres, which are scattered across the country.
For the first time ever, Gen Prayut used Facebook Live to promote the Thai Niyom Direct Line project.
"Thai Niyom Direct Line is a direct line to the prime minister. Don't worry that the [information] will be lost or go missing. Some issues can be handled right away, while others might take some time. But we will do our best," he said.
Gen Prayut said the government took every issue, not just corruption, seriously, adding that more than 3.2 million complaints had been lodged with Damrongtham centres and 98% of them had been addressed.
The prime minister also asked Thai Niyom Direct Line staff about the complaints they had received on the first day and wanted to know if there were any about democracy and election delays.
Gen Prayut urged them to have patience when handling complaints that were intended to criticise or attack him and asked the media to understand the purpose of the project.
"We're opening channels for the public to air their problems, not for people to make accusations. That's a waste of officials' time," he said.