The appointment of the former 4th Army Region commander to the post had been widely speculated by the media since last week.

“Yes, it’s Gen Udomchai Thammasarorath,” he said when asked by the media about the matter after chairing the weekly cabinet meeting here, today.

He complimented Aksara as hardworking and efficient during his tenure as the government’s lead negotiator to the talks, especially in reducing violent incidents in southern Thailand.

Prayut also made it clear that the ongoing Malaysia-led peace talks between the Thai government and Majlis Syura Patani (Mara Patani) are in accordance with the country’s constitution.

As the facilitator to the peace process, Malaysia has been arranging several rounds of talks between the two sides in Kuala Lumpur.

The appointment of the new personality to lead Thailand’s delegation to the peace talks had been anticipated ever since Kuala Lumpur appointed former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor to the post (facilitator) recently, succeeding Datuk Ahmad Zamzamin Hashim.

Ahmad Zamzamin was appointed by the previous Barisan Nasional government.

Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to visit Thailand later this month, where he will hold talks with Prayut and discuss a wide range of bilateral issues including the current peace process in southern Thailand.

It will be Dr Mahathir’s first visit to Thailand since becoming Malaysia’s seventh Prime Minister after leading the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to victory in Malaysia’s 14th General Election last May.