BANGKOK — His Majesty the King and PM Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday called upon Thai bureaucrats to serve with honesty and uphold their honor on the occasion of Thai Civil Servants’ Day, which falls on April 1.

In a brief message released to the media, King Vajiralongkorn said that civil servants should use three types of knowledge to do their duty, while Prayut urges them to rely on virtue and morality to accomplish their works.

The King’s message says, “Civil servants rely on three kinds of knowledge in their duties: theoretical knowledge that is correct, deep, and wide-ranging, practical knowledge in carrying out their duties, and critical thinking knowledge that is local, academic, and moral.”

The message continues, “Civil servants should all be well-versed in all three, not lacking in any part, to be useful to the nation and citizens.”

The Prime Minister’s message begins by saying “‘Civil servants’ is a deep and meaningful word, famed for being honorable and dignified. All civil servants should realize their duties as an important mechanism in moving the country’s government work efficiently.”

Civil servants should put the needs of the citizens and the country first. But this “great duty” “does not rely only on intellect, knowledge and skills” but also requires “virtue, morality, teamwork, and the love of learning.”

Prayut also honored civil servants who had received good conduct awards for upholding the honor and dignity of civil servants as public examples deserving of praise.

“I strongly hope that all good conduct civil servants will safeguard their goodness everlasting and continue to do their duties in an upright, transparent, moral, and non-discriminatory manner to elegantly preserve the honor and dignity of civil servants forever,” the message concludes.