DHAKA: Martial law will remain in effect after junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha becomes prime minister, according to a spokesperson for the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

NCPO spokesman Sirichan Ngathong said Friday it was hoped that martial law would help the country remain peaceful and having it imposed was unlikely to obstruct the new government in running the country, The Straits Times publishes this report on Saturday.

‘Martial law has not affected people’s everyday life. And more tourists have come to Thailand. The NCPO will retain martial law for public peace and order,’ he said.

But General Prayuth, the NCPO chief, said efforts were still being made by ‘old powers and influential groups’ to ‘bring us back to the dysfunctional state we were in’.

He said they were ‘trying to come back in and change things back to the way they were by using social movements, especially those linked to the poor or those with low income’.

‘If we let things go on as they did in the old way, it is likely that Thailand will have much to suffer in the future. Accordingly, this will also slow down the country's development,’ he said.

Gen Prayuth made these remarks last night during a national broadcast of his weekly TV programme ‘Returning Happiness To The People’.

BDST: 1631 HRS, AUG 23, 2014