Thailand PM urges working from home amid fears over energy crisis

Anutin Charnvirakul encourages measures such as home working and carpooling as country is reliant on oil imports Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has called on the public to conserve energy, urging work-from-home measures and carpooling, as he warned of the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. In a statement posted on social media, Anutin said Thailand was exposed to the crisis because of its reliance on imported oil and gas, and the country could not be complacent. “I also request the cooperation of all citizens and the private sector to conserve energy in the same way, whether it’s through WFH (work from home) or WFA (work from anywhere), reducing the use of personal cars and switching to public transportation, carpooling, and using electricity responsibly,” he said. “Although Thailand has high oil reserves compared to other countries, we remain vulnerable as a country that imports a large volume of oil,” he added. “We cannot remain complacent and manage our oil resources as we have done in the past.” He said further measures may be announced and the government promised to do everything in its power to shield the public from the crisis. Across Asia, governmen