In search of good publicity

The Bangkok Post 'About Politics' column says that Thailand has taken steps toward transparency through its own media outlets

Bangkok Post
Thursday, February 15, 2007

The Surayud Chulanont government is struggling to change the F grade it has received from critics for its "passiveness" in communicating with the public.

The government is known for its integrity, but its capacity to update and present its work progress has failed to impress people. Its skill in public relations has been viewed as unsuccessful when compared to the Thaksin Shinawatra government.

PM's Office Minister Thirapat Serirangsan, who oversees the state media channels, is often urged to exercise state "power" to force state media to broadcast more of the government's work.

"Many people tell me to use the power, but I don't want to use it," Mr Thirapat said.

Though the government owns many TV and radio media channels, it chooses not to ask or tell them to report its work progress. Instead, the government is willing to pay a huge amount of money to buy airtime to spread the word.

Even the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC), which is investigating alleged irregularities in the previous government, needs to spend part of its own budget to help the government buy airtime to broadcast its work on television once a month.

The ASC recently received 40 million baht for spending on salaries and public relations.

The allocation has come under severe criticism. Critics want to know why the government cannot ask media members under its control to help broadcast its work and why it has to pay such a huge amount of money for this purpose.

The criticism seems to have awakened the government. On Tuesday, Mr Thirapat invited executives and news editors of TV channels to dinner and asked them for "cooperation" in presenting more news about the government.

The cooperation was not aimed at strengthening the stability of the government. The government just wants to keep people updated on what it has done, he said. The day ended happily when all TV channels reported Mr Thirapat's request for cooperation.

The good response from media members was a far cry from their earlier reaction to the Council for National Security's request for similar cooperation.

In those days, the atmosphere was tense, with military officers showing gloomy faces. But on Tuesday, both government officials and the electronic media were smiling and seemed happy.

Channel 9 even sacrificed its prime time, usually reserved for soap operas, for a live broadcast of a special interview given by Gen Surayud.

That seems to be a good sign for Mr Thirapat, as he and his special panel are pushing for a master plan to make efficient use of media for political and social reform.

From pride to predicament

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra wanted Suvarnabhumi Airport to be the nation's pride and joy. But the image presented after he was deposed and the airport opened was hardly that. While actual problems at the four-month-old airport are real, negative suggestions have grown out of all proportion, thanks to Mr Thaksin's opponents as well as vested interests.

Although the military have full control of the government as well as the Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), they have invited politicians from the Democrat party, which is the arch-rival of Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party, as well as opinionated academics to sit on committees that are investigating the defects and alleged irregularities relevant to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Even a former executive of New Bangkok International Airport Co, which became part of AoT, has returned to investigate wrongdoing at AoT although he once faced allegations of irregularities himself.

Contractors involved in the airport's construction admit to the initial physical damage at Suvarnabhumi Airport but they note that some authorities have exaggerated its problems to exact revenge on Mr Thaksin and, in the meantime, put themselves in the spotlight to improve their own standing.

These people are competing with one another to make headlines and some of them sitting on the AoT board have even started to attack one another through the mass media.

They are putting personal interests above the national interest, as exaggerated reports of problems at Suvarnabhumi continue to ruin the image of the airport itself and damage the country's reputation.

The Council for National Security stands to lose for inviting such people to take part in examining Suvarnabhumi.

An AoT executive has revealed that prejudiced persons assigned to check the airport also have conflicts of interest as they are fielding their own people for high positions within the AoT.

These include advisory positions in AoT's subsidiaries including Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel. These ulterior motives are inevitably causing AoT staff to lose morale.

The hidden agenda surrounding Suvarnabhumi Airport is a source of concern for Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen and his deputy Sansern Wongcha-um. The airport's physical problems can be solved but both Adm Theera and Mr Sansern admit they cannot act quickly enough to lay to rest some wild and unsubstantiated claims. Many are directly related to the problems of some people who are supervising the airport.

These people are playing the part of newsmakers who are spinning surrealistic stories about Suvarnabhumi Airport out of a handful of facts, while letting others be responsible for solving the problems.

Private lives, public smears

Public figures inevitably come under criticism for their work and personal lifestyle. The allegations are mostly aimed at discrediting them or showing to the public that they lack ethics.

In the political arena, politicians or senior administrators who are elected or appointed cannot escape criticism. They have to be prepared to cope with all forms of allegations that will be unearthed against them.

In the past, government leaders or prime ministers all faced criticism. Former prime minister Banharn Silpa-archa, for instance, was accused of changing his father's nationality from Chinese to Thai. Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai, despite his reputation as a modest and honest politician, was accused of having an affair with a woman and siring a son with her. Though former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was not overly criticised for his personal life, his wife, Khunying Phankrua came under fire for interfering in the work of her husband. Better known as Khunying Louise, she was sniped at for her mixed origins as the daughter of a Dutch father and Indonesian mother.

Though deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra tried to project himself as a family man, he was also accused of having affairs with various women. Rumours were rife in recent years that a former female politician and an actress were pregnant because of a high-ranking political figure.

Council for National Security chairman and Army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin is facing the same fate.

An anti-coup group calling itself "Phirab Khao (White Dove) 2006" recently submitted a petition to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, accusing the CNS chairman of having registered two marriages.

However, the allegation against Gen Sonthi could not shake his credibility as he is a Muslim, who is traditionally entitled to have four wives.

But what made the coup leader feel uneasy was a recent press interview given by his first wife, who talked about her romance with him.

"Gen Sonthi feels uneasy after his first wife gave the interview as he is afraid there will be family problems with his other wife whom he has officially introduced to society," said a close aide to the CNS chairman.

"The officially introduced wife might be upset [over the press interview given by the first wife]. This worries Gen Sonthi," the source said.

After the Sept 19 coup which ousted the old power clique, the CNS and the government have tried to bring about national reconciliation. However, the task of reconciling his family may turn out to be an even tougher job for Gen Sonthi.

Date Posted: 2/15/2007