• 
• 
• 

The Bangkok Poll shows that the respondents gave the government only 4.06 points out of 10. Thai Rath said that previous governments tended to angrily dismiss the result of the poll if it reflected negatively on them. But Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva accepted the poll result and he warned Cabinet members not to be involved in corruption and asked his ministers to work hard.

The Bangkok Poll showed that the honeymoon period is over. An Abac Poll, conducted in May, showed that a majority of 70 per cent of the respondents were satisfied with Abhisit while 58.8 per cent were satisfied with the government's performance. One month has passed and the result by a different pollster has shown a different result.

Nonetheless, Thai Rath said that 64.4 per cent of the respondents of Bangkok Poll, conducted among Bangkokians, said they believed the government would stay in office for longer than one year. It shows that Bangkok people still wanted to give the government the opportunity to work.

The respondents also said that what they liked best about the government is the prime minister's decision to exercise caution in solving conflicts.

Therefore, Thai Rath said the government should not feel let down by the result because respondents still wanted to see the government in office to fulfil their mission.

For instance, after the House passed the bills to allow the government to borrow up to Bt800 billion to stimulate the economy, the government must urgently use the money to produce tangible results.

Thai Rath added that several surveys also showed that the strongest point of this government is the prime minister, who is accepted for his honesty without any conflict of interest. Therefore, the prime minister should work based on his strong point by not letting any corruption within his government.

Nonetheless, Thai Rath summed up that apart from the economic crisis, Thailand is also facing problems from a lack of foreign investor confidence in Thai politics.

Therefore, the government must exercise decisiveness in protecting law and order and not allow any group to instigate disturbances in the country.

Matichon's editorial, meanwhile, urged the Thai and Cambodian governments to be cautious in solving the conflict at Preah Vihear Temple.

In its editorial "Don't let the war begin", Matichon said the Thai government must make the plea asking Unesco to revise its decision with discretion, caution and diplomatic prowess.

It must convince the World Heritage Committee and the world that the development of the Hindu temple requires cooperation from both Thailand and Cambodia.