It says here that the call for Sharia is an "unexpected initiative," but it doesn't seem to have been at all unexpected among Jihad Watch readers [1] here, and Charles Johnson called it also. "Thai PM apologizes for ex-govt's tactics," by Rungrawee C. Pinyorat for [2] Associated Press, with thanks to [3] LGF:

PATTANI, Thailand - Thailand's interim prime minister publicly apologized Thursday for the former government's hard-line policies against an Islamic insurgency, promising an investigation into allegations of human rights abuses by the administration deposed in a recent coup.

In an unexpected initiative, Chulanont Surayud also said he would urge the limited use of Islamic law in Thailand's Muslim-majority south to settle some disputes, especially over inheritance and family affairs, he said.

Surayud was accompanied by army chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, a practicing Muslim who led the Sept. 19 coup. Previous governments have shown little acceptance of Muslim culture.