Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday brushed aside nicknames made up by the media for the government and cabinet ministers at the end of each year, saying he was not interested in such a tradition.
At the end of each year, members of the press attached to Government House come up with nicknames for the government and its ministers, each with varying degrees of sarcasm.
This year, the press labelled the government as "[wearing] the Mask of a Good Guy" -- in reference to the numerous times that the government was called out for acting as if it was working for the benefit of the public.
Despite its pledges to work for the people's benefit, doubts remained on whether the government is capable of following through on the policy pledges it has made. For example, the decriminalisation of cannabis, which the Bhumjaithai Party had hoped to promote as a new cash crop, has instead turned into a debate over the lack of adequate controls to prevent its abuse.
Meanwhile, Gen Prayut received the nickname "Paed Puen". A play on the word paed, which means "eight" and puen which means "stain", the nickname refers to Gen Prayut's eight years in office, which has been marred by various controversies. Gen Prayut was the first prime minister ever to be suspended by the Constitutional Court when it deliberated on the eight-year limit of his premiership.
After a 38-day suspension, he returned to work after the court allowed him to remain in office, prompting critics to lambast the premier, who in the past had often said he was only acting in the country's best interest and that he had no intention to cling to power.
When asked to comment on the names, Gen Prayut said he was not interested. A source said that during a Defence Council meeting, Gen Prayut said the names "were meant to discredit".