Nida Poll suggests 44.1% of the public do not understand the function of the two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed with Cambodia in 2000 and 2001.
The National Institute of Development Administration (Nida Poll) on Sunday released the results of a survey titled “A Referendum is Coming. Do You Understand MoU 43 and MoU 44 Yet?”
The survey was conducted on Oct 1-2, targeting Thais aged 18 and above across all regions, education levels, occupations and income groups.
A total of 1,310 respondents were sampled to assess understanding of MoU 43 (on land boundaries, signed in 2000) and MoU 44 (on overlapping maritime zones, signed in 2001) ahead of a proposed referendum on whether to cancel them after the recent border conflict with Cambodia.
When asked about their understanding of MoU 43, 44.1% said that they did not understand it at all, followed by 24.9% who said they understood it only slightly. Meanwhile, 23.1% said they somewhat understood it and only 7.7% said they understood it well.
As for MoU 44, 45.7% stated that they did not understand it at all, followed by 24.9% who said they understood it only slightly. In addition, 22.4% indicated they somewhat understood it, while just 6.8% reported a high level of understanding.
Regarding the public’s desire to gain a clearer understanding of both MoUs, the survey found that 65.5% expressed a wish to understand both MoUs, while 34% said they did not wish to understand either. A total of 0.23% indicated a desire to understand only MoU 43, and an equal percentage wished to understand only MoU 44.
When asked about holding a referendum on repealing both MoUs, 60.7% said they agreed with holding the referendum. This was followed by 20.9% who said they completely disagreed with such a referendum, 12.6% who declined to answer or were uninterested, 4.9% who said they were unsure, 0.46% who supported a referendum to repeal only MoU 43, and 0.3% who supported a referendum to repeal only MoU 44.