‘Science for society’ is new govt theme

New deputy PM wants to improve social welfare, to end ‘statelessness’

Bangkok Post (Sept 8, 2014)

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Science-for-society-is-new-govt-theme-30242760.html

Science under the military administration will become “science for society” instead of “science for the economy”, Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Yutthawong has said.

“It will be the first time that science will be used to serve society but not the economy. Society is the most important frontier these days, so science has to go for that direction,” said Yongyuth in an exclusive interview with Nation Multimedia Group.

One of his ideas to serve this purpose revolves around engaging technology to help entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized businesses. For example, connecting more of these entrepreneurs with technology to improve their businesses.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has yet to allocate duties for his deputies but Yongyuth is expected to oversee education, public health, science, plus social development and human security.

Prayuth’s Cabinet has around one year to get things done. Although it’s a short period, the Cabinet will try to lay the foundation for the next government, Yongyuth said.

He said his top priorities included improving social welfare. And while the Bt300-minimum wage initiated by the ousted Yingluck Shinawatra government was a good policy, he said the most important thing was educating people on how to make a living.

“I want to see Thais get out of the middle income trap as the PM mentioned. So we need to use knowledge to fight against poverty so that everybody will have a better life,” he said. Yongyuth also wants to see an increase in the competitiveness of Thai people, which education will play a vital role in achieving.

Education has shifted from teaching to learning but most teachers did not understand that, he said, adding that teachers should change their role from teaching to coaching or guidance. In this matter, he said, information technology would help them too.

He said tackling illegal migrant labour and preserving jobs for Thai workers and how to solve the problem of stateless people and the granting of citizenship to them were also his priorities.

The 70-year-old technocrat is also an adviser to the National Council for Peace and Order on science and technology. He was a science minister in General Surayud Chulanont’s government in 2006-07.

He was also the director of the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology for six years before becoming the first director of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, a position he held for six years.

Yongyuth, who is the oldest minister in the Cabinet, said Prayuth’s 33 Cabinet members’ accumulative age was 1999. The average age was 62 – the same average age as Surayud’s government.

The youngest minister is Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, who is 54.

IMG_70161 (Medium)
Prof. Yongyuth in action during Malaria Day 2014 at NANOTEC