News Forum - Paetongtarn criticised for holiday plans during Songkran

[Thaiger]

The holiday plans of Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra have ignited a fiery debate as she opts to fly to Hong Kong during the Songkran festival, leaving tongues wagging and eyebrows raised. Amid preparations for a grand celebration of Songkran, Thailand’s New Year and a UNESCO-recognised cultural treasure, questions loom over Paetongtarn’s decision to venture … …

The story Paetongtarn criticised for holiday plans during Songkran as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Ramanathan.P]

May be she is upset because her 21 days water splashing event proposal to generate additional revenue for the government was shoot down by many.....

[ChrisS]

Can't say I blame her, avoiding Songkran is a great idea!

[MrStretch]

12 hours ago, ChrisS said:

Can't say I blame her, avoiding Songkran is a great idea!

I agree, but from a political viewpoint, it was tone deaf.  Almost as bad as posting the pic of her father playing in the pool this week with his grandchildren.

Seems like this family might be taking their "supporters" for a ride.

[ChrisS]

13 hours ago, MrStretch said:

Seems like this family might be taking their "supporters" for a ride.

Thai politicians taking their supporters for a ride..............Surely not, hush your mouth :)

[Vigo]

22 hours ago, MrStretch said:

I agree, but from a political viewpoint, it was tone deaf.  Almost as bad as posting the pic of her father playing in the pool this week with his grandchildren.

Seems like this family might be taking their "supporters" for a ride.

What's so bad about taking a holiday out of the country? Hong Kong is hardly exotic and is the equivalent of North east Americans and Canadians going to Florida for thanksgiving for Christmas, or UK residents heading to Ibiza or Europeans dashing off to Tenerife for a long weekend.

[MrStretch]

7 hours ago, Vigo said:

What's so bad about taking a holiday out of the country?

"...she occupies a prominent role in Thailand’s National Soft Power Strategy Committee, tasked with promoting the country’s cultural influence."

Hence, my comment that it was tone deaf, from a political viewpoint.

[Vigo]

10 hours ago, MrStretch said:

"...she occupies a prominent role in Thailand’s National Soft Power Strategy Committee, tasked with promoting the country’s cultural influence."

Hence, my comment that it was tone deaf, from a political viewpoint.

I agree that the optics are bad, but really, she isn't doing anything different than many other Thais. The festival core value is a time of family gatherings and family events.  She is going to Hong Kong for a family event. The article does not say how long  she would be gone, but as I understand it, she is going for approx. a week. During this week, there are no public events that require the presence of politicians and MPs. The emphasis is on family events. If anything, politicians should not use Songkran for political activities. 

Even if she stayed in Thailand, I would like to know how exactly it would have promoted the country's cultural influence. Were you expecting her to  stand on the back of a pickup truck throwing  buckets of water? The MPs work all year round  and Songkran is the one time of the year they get some time to themselves . Maybe she just wants to get away from a hectic pace and unwind? She has the right to a holiday. People forget that when  the national assembly is on recess, the MPs are still working: They go back to their districts to deal with constituency issues. The Thai MPs  get dismissed as lazy etc., but they do work hard, including this woman, no matter what some people think. There are always constituency issues to deal with such as feuds, disputes, helping obtain funding for projects, meeting with constituents, helping to fix problems etc. Thai MPs do a lot for their districts and it is a 24/7 job with  little time for holidays. Songkran is the one time they can unplug.

[MrStretch]

3 hours ago, Vigo said:

Were you expecting her to  stand on the back of a pickup truck throwing  buckets of water?

I wasn't expecting anything.  The optics aren't bad from my viewpoint, but from those of Thais, as was stated in the original article.

 

3 hours ago, Vigo said:

MPs work all year round

 

Highly debatable but that isn't worth debating here.

You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I give a flying fig.  I don't.  For Thais, her leaving doesn't look good.  I don't blame here but with election and claimed representation or leadership of a political party come a responsibility to present a certain image.

My contention was, for Thais, this wasn't a good one.