Poll finds more people support PM

BANGKOK, May 19 (TNA) -- The popularity of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has increased sharply by 3.2 per cent from January this year, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Bangkok University Research Centre or Bangkok Poll. The survey conducted recently on 1,205 people found that 66.4 per cent of total respondents wanted a clean government leader while 56.5 per cent believed that current visits to people in provinces by Gen Prayut would help boost his popularity. Asked which government policies they preferred most, 57 per cent of the total respondents said they preferred medical welfare programmes followed by 54.4 per cent on helping agriculturists programme, 48.3 per cent on welfare for the poor and 46.9 per cent on government’s policy to eradicate malpractice in Thailand. Even though Gen Prayut led the military in toppling the elected government of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra four years ago, up to 40 per cent of the respondents said they would continue to support Gen Prayut to become prime minister again after a general election. The government has said that the election would be held within next February. (TNA)