Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha claimed today that former Finance Minister Pridi Daochai’s resignation stems from health problems and appealed to critics not to use his departure to attack the Government.

Even without a Finance Minister, for the time being, the Prime Minister assured that his administration can function as normal because he, along with the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs and Deputy Finance Minister Santi Prompat, will be able to handle the situation until a replacement is found in due course, but the Prime Minister declined to indicate any preference for whom he would prefer as the new Finance Minister.

Appealing for the public to have confidence in his administration, the Prime Minister insisted that the resignation of Mr. Pridi will not affect development or investment projects, because there are working committees and officials in control.

The Government, he said, will continue to address the pressing problems and open the country to visitors once the COVID-19 pandemic has eased to a satisfactory level.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said it is the sole responsibility of the Prime Minister to find a suitable person to take the finance portfolio, as he denied there is a conflict between Mr. Pridi and his deputy, Mr. Santi Prompat.