PHUKET: A row has broken out over large billboards on Phuket thanking Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for approving a 600 million baht underpass at Phuket City's Central Festival intersection.
Facebook was abuzz with comments today condemning the sign as a fabrication.
MP Anchalee Thepabutr, who was secretary to the PM's Department under previous PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, said today that his Democrat government had approved the budget for the underpass.
The large billboards, posted at the Thainan-Central Festival intersection, at the Tesco-Lotus intersection in Phuket City and at Phuket's Heroines Monument, appeared designed to smooth the visit of PM Yingluck Shinawatra to Phuket for an important Cabinet meeting on March 19-20.
However, commenters were taking the message apart on Facebook today as being a fabrication. The billboard says:
''Phuket people thank Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Cabinet because they have authorised the budget of 200 million baht to make an underpass to solve the trraffic problems of the Thainan intersection to give to Phuket residents and tourists.''
It is not known who commissioned the billboards. But the attempt to make peace with the current Government in Bangkok may have backfired.
Phuket has always been a ''yellow'' Democrat stronghold and the ruling Pheu Thai party under Khun Yingluck is a ''red'' government, with fugitive former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the PM's brother, a major influence.
Whatever the outcome, billboards on Phuket are frowned upon for aesthetic reasons as being visual pollution for a tourist island and officials who place public notices on them are viewed as being hypocritical.
When Khun Yingluck was last on Phuket to present some scholarships to students under Democratic rule, she had to leave by the back door at a hotel to escape protests.
Phuket needs a range of policy and investment projects taken up and funded by the current government regardless of its color. The fuss over the billboards is unlikely to help.
Facebook was abuzz with comments today condemning the sign as a fabrication.
MP Anchalee Thepabutr, who was secretary to the PM's Department under previous PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, said today that his Democrat government had approved the budget for the underpass.
The large billboards, posted at the Thainan-Central Festival intersection, at the Tesco-Lotus intersection in Phuket City and at Phuket's Heroines Monument, appeared designed to smooth the visit of PM Yingluck Shinawatra to Phuket for an important Cabinet meeting on March 19-20.
However, commenters were taking the message apart on Facebook today as being a fabrication. The billboard says:
''Phuket people thank Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Cabinet because they have authorised the budget of 200 million baht to make an underpass to solve the trraffic problems of the Thainan intersection to give to Phuket residents and tourists.''
It is not known who commissioned the billboards. But the attempt to make peace with the current Government in Bangkok may have backfired.
Phuket has always been a ''yellow'' Democrat stronghold and the ruling Pheu Thai party under Khun Yingluck is a ''red'' government, with fugitive former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the PM's brother, a major influence.
Whatever the outcome, billboards on Phuket are frowned upon for aesthetic reasons as being visual pollution for a tourist island and officials who place public notices on them are viewed as being hypocritical.
When Khun Yingluck was last on Phuket to present some scholarships to students under Democratic rule, she had to leave by the back door at a hotel to escape protests.
Phuket needs a range of policy and investment projects taken up and funded by the current government regardless of its color. The fuss over the billboards is unlikely to help.
Here we go again. Didn't the governor start his campaign against the billboards back in August last year?
He said it and you published it: phuketwan.com/.../phuket-billboards-targetted-campaign-agai..
Just another load of hot air!
Posted by Pete on March 8, 2012 10:59