Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has insisted he had no problems with Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon after the latter spoke his mind about the reasons behind the formation of the party.
If Gen Prawit wanted to post an open letter on Facebook, that was his own business, said Gen Prayut. “I have no problems at all. So what?” he told reporters.
He said he had not heard specifically when asked by reporters about Gen Prawit wishing him political success now that the two men are representing different parties.
“In the past, he has constantly given me best wishes. We love each other and have no problems at all. Why would there will be a rift?” the prime minister said.
Gen Prayut, who was never a PPRP member, this week officially joined the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) and will stand as its prime ministerial candidate in the coming general election. Gen Prawit will be the sole prime ministerial candidate of the PPRP.
In the open letter posted on his Facebook page on Friday, Gen Prawit said he decided to form the PPRP and nominate Gen Prayut as the party’s prime ministerial candidate because the latter had expressed his desire to work in politics.
The PPRP leader affirmed that the relationship of the “3 Pors” — Prawit, Prayut and Anupong Paochinda — was forever. Gen Prayut said that was true and he did not see the fellowship ever breaking.
He shrugged off comments that Gen Prawit’s message seemed to indicate that he felt neglected.
In the past, the two men liked to meet for morning coffee at Gen Prawit’s office at the Foundation for the Conservation of Forests in Five Adjoining Provinces in the compound of the 1st Infantry Regiment, where he does most of his political business. Asked if he would continue with that routine, Gen Prayut said he would go if he was free.
“I’ve been with him for 40-50 years. It’s not necessary for me to go today (an drink coffee). We’ve been together on battlefields and in border areas. I don’t understand why you have to ask all this,” Gen Prayut said, visibly annoyed at having been asked the same question on innumerable occasions in recent weeks.
He declined to convey a message to Gen Prawit via the media, saying he could speak to him in person whenever he wanted.