On Tuesday, Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha surprised the reporters as he sprayed them with hand sanitizer to avoid a series of questions, according to a video by Reuters.
Video of Thailand Prime Minister spraying sanitizer on journalists
Prayuth interfered in his own weekly news conference in Bangkok when he got irritated with a number of tough questions. The journalists asked him about a list of prospective candidates for empty cabinet posts. Three of his ministers were detained last week for revolt during protests seven years back.
“Is there anything else to ask?” he said, standing at a podium. “I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. Isn’t it something the prime minister should know first?”
He asked reporters to mind their own business and took a small bottle of hand sanitizer from the podium. Then he randomly went near to the reporters and sprayed each of them while putting a surgical mask on his face.
Later, he was seen talking inaudibly to the same group of reporters and looked annoyed.
#Thailand Prime Minister @prayutofficial
sprays disinfectant on journalists to avert answering questions about the latest shuffling of his cabinet. pic.twitter.com/ehPllH4cTI— Utkarsh Singh (@utkarshs88) March 9, 2021
PM’s unpredictable attitude
The former army commander is famous for his casual and unpredictable attitude towards the journalists. He often passes funny remarks and even hits out at media reporters. Prayuth, who toppled the elected government in a 2014 insurrection is also known for his short-tempered nature.
In the previous events, he had talked to a media scrum during tickling one of the reporters’ ears and threw a banana peel at camera operators. In 2018, he refused to speak to the media after an event. Rather he placed his life-size cutout and left the place saying “ask his guy”.
Thailand’s prime minister had survived a no-confidence motion in parliament about two weeks ago amid assertions that his government did not manage the economy efficiently. Other allegations included the bad provision of COVID-19 vaccines, abusing human rights, and promoting corruption. Nine other ministers also survived the vote.
The President of the National Assembly, Chuan Leekpai had announced the result, saying “The vote shows that there is confidence.”
That was the second no-confidence test that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s administration had experienced after holding official power in July 2019.
