Almost 80% of the population say their level of happiness has either remained unchanged or worsened after four and a half years under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), according to the result of an opinion survey by the National Institute for Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
The poll was conducted on Nov 12-13 on 1,250 people aged 18 and over of various occupations and levels of education throughout the country to gauge their degree of happiness four and a half years after the NCPO took over the country's administration with a pledge to "return happiness to the people".
Nearly half of the respondents, 47.68%, said their level of happiness is the same as before because the country's economy has not improved and the cost of living is still high; 30.64% said they are less happy than before because of the poor economy, high cost of living, low farm prices, poor law enforcement and too many restrictions on rights and freedoms; 21.20% said they have experienced greater happiness because the country is peaceful and orderly, and the NCPO is determined to get rid of corruption and help the people with projects like state welfare cards; and 0.48% were uncertain or had no comment.
Asked what has made them happy during the four and a half years of NCPO rule, 50.80% pointed to law and order free from political disturbances; 24.32% said nothing has made them happier; 8.00% mentioned improvements in social order such as on public footpaths and beaches; 4.56% identified the NCPO's attempts to solve corruption problems; 3.52% its attempts to solve cost of living problems; 2.80% its attention to farmers' problems; 2.32% its attempts to solve crime and economic problems; 0.56% mentioned increased freedoms; 0.32% pointed to the NCPO's efforts to provide state welfare and solve environmental and drug problems; and 0.48% were uncertain or had no comment.
Asked to name the areas the NCPO has failed to bring people happiness, 33.44% mentioned its inability to solve general economic problems; 17.52% identified its ineffectiveness in solving problems for farmers; 11.12% said nothing has made them unhappy; 11.04% said it has left the country without an elected government; 9.92% said it has not been able to address the high cost of living; 6.24% said corruption still exists; 5.20% said the crime problem has not been solved; 2.40% said the media have not been given full freedom; 1.28% said improvements in social order such as on footpaths and beaches have not been completed; 1.12% said many problems have been left unsolved, including drugs, the insurgency in the three southern border provinces, restrictions on political expression and poor law enforcement; and 0.72% were uncertain or had no comment.