Critics slam govt's plan to hire US PR company

Bangkok Post


Instead of hiring a US public relations company to bolster its image abroad, the government should focus on improving its performance and word would spread through existing channels, critics said yesterday. National Legislative Assembly member Sqn-Ldr Prasong Soonsiri said it was unnecessary to spend money on a public relations drive. The best form of promotion would be for the government to perform to the best of its ability, he added.

When the government performs well, not only do people in Thailand hear about it, but the rest of the world also does through the words of Thai ambassadors overseas and reports back to their respective capitals by foreign ambassadors in Bangkok, Sqn-Ldr Prasong said.
Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva also urged the use of existing diplomatic channels, and thought the plan to hire a US firm to counter the media campaign from abroad by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was unnecessary.

Mr Abhisit added that it was not as important for the government to respond to such campaigns as to ensure that Thai people understand what it is doing.

Suriyasai Katasila, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy, said the media campaigns against the government stemmed from Mr Thaksin and the US opposing Thailand's decision to use unpatented medicines.

The government should stand by its decision to adopt compulsory licensing, which could help boost its credibility, he added.

The government must also make known the evils of the Thaksin regime, including its human rights violations and policy-based corruption, while also improving its own performance, Mr Suriyasai said.

He asked why the government had not injected enough funds into the publication of a book on the dark side of the Thaksin administration.

But Council for National Security chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin insisted that the government needed to hire publicity professionals. Thais living abroad had received misleading information and were mobilising opposition against the government, Gen Sonthi said



I hate to say it, but I agree with the Surayud and Sonthi, at least from a practical perspective. Thailand should have an international PR firm on retainer. Not only is this smart, it is common. Most countries have have PR firms and lobbyists in Washington.

Prasong and Abhisit are wrong. They are living in the stone age. They have no idea how the real world works in 2007. It is the media age. The days of Thai diplomats just smiling and kissing ass are over. It is a dog eat dog world

The Thai foreign office needs to worry about its duties overseas. It shouldn't be involved with PR campaigns.

The Thai government needs to wake up. Brand Thailand is in the toilet right now. And it needs all the help it can get.

And who is this Suriyasai idiot? Why is he the go to guy for every single article about politics in The Nation and Bangkok Post? One would think that he was the only political activist in Thailand out of 65 million people.