Earlier, social media was taken by surprise when Tack Phorunyu once said in an interview that he wants to take a photo with the next Prime Minister, regardless of which party they come from. If they become PM, he wants to take a photo with them immediately.
Recently, when meeting Tack, he gave an interview about the recent election, also mentioning the acting Prime Minister's statement that Thai people will become so wealthy they "cry for their lives."
"I think, hypothetically, if someone is to lose, they should lose with dignity. If someone is to win, they should win with dignity. There should be no suspicion. If you want to win, frankly, like everyone wants a recount, if you win, counting hundreds or thousands of times will still result in your win. If you lose, we know you lost, and you lose with dignity, accepting defeat fully, and then we fight again."
"Of course, as before, many people still have lingering doubts. It's not about being orange, red, green, or blue. Everyone is suspicious now. There's no need for a new election; just a recount openly. Count however you want, but make it clear who won. Losing is normal; everything is a competition with winners and losers. (But please be transparent, no corruption, no fraud?) That's all."
Maybe it’s not suspicion but mistakes?
"If it’s a mistake, 1. mistakes can happen, sometimes they can, but are there too many mistakes here? Sometimes we ask the elders one thing, they answer something else. We, the younger generation, don’t want much—just transparency and straight answers. That’s it. Our generation is easy to talk to. Just have honesty and transparency; whatever happens is fine."
"I want the Election Commission (EC) officials and seniors to work as we’ve supported you, paying for many things. Sometimes you start at 8 a.m., but you don’t have to wait until 10. Even 7 a.m. is fine. Because this isn’t just about time; if we make mistakes or have issues, we should fix them immediately. Time isn’t the point. If you fix mistakes, the public won’t complain."
About the statement by the acting Prime Minister that Thai people will "be so rich they cry for their lives?"
"Whoever becomes Prime Minister, it doesn’t matter. I respectfully ask to take a photo with them (hands in a wai). I’m fully committed. If they wear blue, that’s fine. I want to take a photo with them properly. If I meet them, I want to snap a shot."
Why does he want to take a photo with them?
"Well, at the level of Prime Minister or the Election Commission, I want to meet them face to face. I want to meet all seven of them; I want to know them because I just met them two days ago. We never saw their faces before, so we didn’t know what they were like. Now we’ve seen many of them, and of course, I want to take photos with the acting Prime Minister and ministers. I want photos with important people."
What would you like to say to them?
"Can I say? (laughs)"
Regarding the statement about making Thai people "so rich they cry for their lives?"
"If Thai people were going to be rich, I’ll tell you, they’d have been rich a long time ago. We wouldn’t be in this situation. The policies are okay, I like them. So why can’t Thai people get rich? Why can’t they even support dinosaurs? Of course, we want every Thai person to be wealthy. Certainly, there are many needs. If it can be done, that’s your achievement. Surely the public will trust you and might vote for you again if that’s true."
Anything you want to say to them?
"Sir, if you’re watching, my name is Tack Phorunyu. May I respectfully ask to take a photo with you? It would be a great honor. I will put your photo on my wall, post it on social media, and even pin it on the map."
Still, do we uphold democratic principles?
"Correct, absolutely. Everyone wants democracy. I think every party, whether they lose or win, should accept defeat and the decision, then fight again. But when I say fight again, whether win or lose, it must be based on correctness and transparency. That’s all I ask for, nothing more."
Can Thailand hope to be free of gray areas?
"Can you say that? It’s hard, almost impossible. If there must be gray, can it be just 5% or 10%? We don’t want 100% good people, but we want more good than we need. Certainly, every government has good and bad. But can the good be 90%, and the remaining 10% gray? That’s your business. I just want the country to develop. If that’s what’s needed, it doesn’t exist. We must face reality, not be idealistic. If you do a little here and there, just let Thailand move forward. Let everyone live well."
Does Tack want the election annulled and a new one held?
"Don’t you regret the taxpayer money? Over a billion baht on stupid boxes and baskets. Do you want that? No. We’ve worked hard for a long time to see this. These ballot boxes can be bought. So, where did the seven billion baht go? They turned into stupid boxes, then were sold by weight. I want them to be sturdy metal boxes worthy of seven billion baht. As for a new election, no. Our budget’s already blown. But I want things to look better, like the boxes, which should last a long time."
"Please don’t interfere with the boxes or open them. There are laws. Whatever you do, you must accept the consequences. I know everyone is impatient, but we must respect the law. Don’t open this or that. We can watch the behavior of elders but don’t cross the line. If you cross it, like the young person in the recent news, you must accept the consequences."
What should Thai people do now?
"Accept it, just accept it. (Have you accepted it?) I accepted long ago. I believe everyone has accepted it. At least the public will continue to work and make a living."
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