Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai today offered Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin a valuable piece of advice: “Don’t go to jail or go into exile.”

Speaking on the second day of the parliamentary debate on the Srettha government’s policy statement, Chuan also called on the prime minister not to discriminate against the southern region when it comes to development budget.

Chuan said he believed that Srettha was as qualified as all the previous prime ministers from Thai Rak Thai and Pheu Thai parties but it was too early to judge whether he would perform his duty honestly.

“My advice is that don’t cross the line, don’t go to jail and don’t go into exile,” Chuan said.

It was not clear why Chuan came up with the remarks but they are understood to refer to former prime ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra who were both sentenced to prison for corruption of duty before fleeing the country.

In response, Srettha thanked Chuan for his advice and said he entered politics with an intention to improve the people’s livelihood.

“I came in with an open mind to work for the country,” he said and noted that the former prime minister had mispronounced his name.  Indeed, Chuan did refer to Srettha as “Chettha”.

Srettha also said that as far as development is concerned his government would have no discrimination against any particular regions.

For years, Chuan has complained that the southern region was deliberately ignored by Pheu Thai and Thai Rak Thai when the parties were in power because it is considered to be the political stronghold of his Democrat Party.