Interview: Leader Wit will not say if he will back Prayut intended for PM again
Gen Wit Devahastin na Ayudhya, the new leader of the Ruam Phaen Noise Party, insists the particular party is not an offshoot of the judgment Palang Pracharath Celebration (PPRP).
He hinted the particular party will not assistance Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to return because premier after the next election.
Gen Wit, a close associate of Deputy Prime Minister plus PPRP leader Style Prawit Wongsuwon, was forced to resign since Setthakij Thai Party leader on May 24 following a rift with Capt Thamanat Prompow who has today assumed the party leadership himself.
According to sources, the conflict got thwarted plans to use Setthakij Thai like a PPRP splinter party, so Palang Graph Thai Party was chosen for Style Wit and it has been renamed Ruam Phaen Din on Aug 1 when he was made the leader.
Gen Wit offers maintained close ties with Gen Prawit since they served because military officers in Sa Kaeo under the 2nd Infantry Department more than 40 years ago.
Gen Wit also is secretary-general of the Nationwide Olympic Committee of Thailand of which Gen Prawit is president.
Not an offshoot
In an interview using the Bangkok Post , Gen Wit said that when he was at the helm of Setthakij Thai, many of his friends and co-workers who wanted to get involved with politics also became a member of the party to assistance him.
“But when I [was forced to] give up as Setthakij Thailänder leader, those supporters felt they would end up being left in the lurch, so I had to find a new home for them. So we joined collectively again as a new party and they decided me as head, ” Gen Humor said.
He also was adamant the new party has nothing to do with Gen Prawit, though he said he or she sought his guidance before shifting towards the new party.
“Gen Prawit gave me his backing and told me that will being a politician needs patience, ” Gen Wit said.
“I informed him that I am an ex-soldier along with little experience in politics and small patience.
“Gen Prawit stated he did not observe himself as a politician either but he had felt obliged to enter politics for the sake of the country, ” Style Wit said.
He also denied talk that will Ruam Phaen Din was set up simply to secure party-list seats and help the particular PPRP win a majority in the House and type a government after the next election.
“That is not true. The party is only for previous members [of Setthakij Thai] who reveal the same ideologies. That they had nowhere to go and a new home had to be found for them, ” Gen Wit mentioned.
Tip of no support
Questioned who Ruam Phaen Din will back as the next primary minister and whether it will support Style Prayut to return since premier in the next election, Gen Wit stated: “We may need somebody who does a better job than him [Gen Prayut] — someone that is best suited when the situations change.
“We support a good person to guide the country forward, ” he said.
Asked if the person he mentioned previously will likely be Gen Prawit considering that some PPRP members are also backing him to be the next prime minister, Gen Wit would only say: “No one knows what the future holds. ”
Gen Wit also remained non-committal about whether he would be nominated because the party’s candidate, saying the executive panel will make a decision over the matter.
Gen Wit also said he will run as a candidate to get a party-list seat so as to make way for various other party members to run for the seats instead.
Dealing with all sides
Asked whether Ruam Phaen Noise would be willing to work with all parties, such as the Pheu Thai Celebration, after the next election, Gen Wit said he wanted an end to the political separate that has blighted the nation for years.
“All sides should work together in the nation’s best interests. That’s the things i expect to see and I also have friends on every side, inch he said.
Asked whether or not he and Capt Thamanat have buried the hatchet and when there is any chance of them working together once again in the future, Gen Humor was upbeat.
“I recently had dinner along with Gen Prawit in the Five Provinces Highlighting Forest Preservation Foundation when Capt Thamanat popped in to inform Gen Prawit that he would defect towards the opposition.
“When we fulfilled, he [Capt Thamanat] apologised in my experience over the incident that led to me women from Setthakij Thai. I told him I had already forgiven and forgotten, ” Gen Wit stated.
“But things will never function as the same because all of us has our own party to take care of at this point, ” Gen Humor added.
“I admit that I is a former enthusiast not well-versed within politics. But I am going to engage in politics truly and straightforwardly with regard to people’s best interests. ”