PM to visit TRT stronghold
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont will visit two provinces in the Northeast today amid growing fears the new administration will scrap some of the social programmes introduced by the previous government.
The new PM plans to meet community leaders in Buri Ram and Sakhon Nakhon - strongholds of the Thai Rak Thai Party - to stress that his government will not overlook their needs and that health and rural development programmes will continue to be a top priority, government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said."The prime minister will explain to community leaders that his government's policies will not be different from those of the Thaksin government and that we will continue to give priority to rural development," he said. Newin Chidchob, a close aide to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was an MP for Buri Ram for many years. Many villagers from both provinces joined pro-Thaksin rallies in the provinces and in Bangkok. A government source said Surayud's talks today would also cover the problem of a lack of agricultural land. Provincial governors will join the discussion. Sutthinan Pratyaphrut, a scholar in Buri Ram, said he would like to ask Surayud about the sufficiency policy. "I also want to tell him to hurry to create harmony in the country as fast as the government can," he said. Sakhon Nakhon Governor Preecha Kamolbutr said although a PM's Office official had called him, he did not know Surayud's precise agenda.
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