PM maintains that appointment of new supreme patriarch must wait



BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha insisted on Tuesday that the appointment of the new supreme patriarch would have to wait until all the legal cases are cleared up.

He admitted that he had not received a ruling of the ombudsman’s office that the Sangha Supreme Council’s nomination of Somdet Chuang as the 20th supreme patriarch was not lawful because it should be the prime minister who should make the nomination.

Like all the other legal opinions about this issue regarding the new supreme patriarch, the prime minister said that the ombudsman’s office’s ruling would be sent to the legal section for consideration.

Asked whether the appointment of the new supreme patriarch should have to wait, the prime minister asked back: “Should it be that way?” He referred to the military and police reshuffle, saying that any proposed appointments which are not appropriate such as the officials concerned are facing charges will be rejected.

The prime minister then pleaded for fairness for himself and his wife after he and his family were accused of converting to Islam.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/154155


-- Thai PBS 2016-03-09

Wikipedia says the PM is Buddhist.

Islam? Wait.... What?