Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gestures for his counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra to step down from the stage at Kuala Lumpur after the welcoming ceremony for her official visit on Monday.
Reuters photo. The prime minister skipped a House session that day to attend the meeting. Mr Kittiratt said the prime minister's duty is to listen to opinions from as many people as possible because her government is open to all suggestions, both official and unofficial. It was necessary for the government to listen to useful suggestions from anyone in the private sector, not necessarily only from the chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries or the Thai Chamber of Commerce, he said.
I also know all of those who sought to meet the prime minister. I understand they did not want to meet the prime minister at Government House because they did not want to be seen as siding with the government, because certain groups of people dislike the government," Mr Kittiratt said. Mr Kittiratt said the businessmen chose the Four Seasons Hotel as the meeting venue possibly because they did not want to appear at Government House to avoid arousing news reporters' curiosity. He said he personally knows Mr Srettha, one of the businessmen who met the premier at the hotel, and could reassure the public that he is a good man.
Mr Kittiratt urged the private sector to come out to offer their views and suggestions to the government without any fear of criticism that they were attempting to curry favour with the administration.
Ms Yingluck on Monday dismissed suggestions there had been any conflicts of interest involved when she met a group of businessmen, particularly Mr Srettha at the hotel. I can assure you that there were no conflicts of interest involved," she said.
