Roi et: Ms. Jiraporn Sindhuphrai, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, attended the 2025 Phanom Phrai District Headman and Village Headman Day at the Phanom Phrai District Office Auditorium in Roi Et Province. She offered encouragement and appreciation for the role of village headmen and village headmen as key mechanisms in driving community development and strengthening local communities.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Jiraporn praised the kamnans, village headmen, assistant village headmen, kamnan sergeants, and subdistrict doctors, who represent the administrative sector in alleviating suffering and promoting well-being. She emphasized the importance of kamnans and village headmen as community leaders closest to the people and thus pivotal in implementing government policies, particularly addressing drug addiction at the community level.
Ms. Jiraporn addressed the Seal Stop Safe measures, a proactive prevention, suppression, and treatment program, a key measure the government has implemented to combat narcotics. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Acting Prime Minister, Mr. Phumtham Wechayachai, at the kickoff event for the “Thailand Zero Drugs” campaign on August 7, 2025.
The Seal Stop Safe measure was implemented as a strategy to block 52 border districts to prevent drug trafficking and transnational crime. This resulted in a rise in black market prices for methamphetamine, reflecting the increasing difficulty of drug access. During the first 10 months of fiscal year 2025 (October 1, 2024, to July 30, 2025), the government prosecuted over 210,000 cases, arrested more than 211,000 suspects, seized over 851 million methamphetamine pills, 41 tons of crystal methamphetamine, 1.2 tons of heroin, and 5 tons of ketamine. Furthermore, assets belonging to drug trafficking networks worth over 12 billion baht were seized.
Ms. Jiraporn also mentioned the Thawatchaburi Model project in Roi Et Province, a model for addressing drug problems that emphasizes not just arrests but also direct community participation. Local residents play a role in closely monitoring, preventing, and caring for drug users in the community, leading to a significant reduction in drug use. The Thawatchaburi Model has been hailed as one of the government’s most successful models and has been expanded to 10 other pilot provinces nationwide.
Kamnan and Village Headman Day is established to commemorate August 10, 1892, the day the positions of Kamnan and Village Headman were first established during the reign of King Rama V. His Majesty ordered His Royal Highness Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, the first Minister of the Interior, to conduct a trial of subdistrict and village administrative systems in Bang Pa-in District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. The aim was to enable local leaders to act as state representatives in caring for the well-being of their people under the principle of “relieving suffering and promoting happiness,” a practice that continues to this day.