'He will be good at propaganda'
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Appointing Buri Ram Governor Apinan Chantharangsi as chief of the Public Relations Department may be seen as a means for the government to rein in the state media and feed pro-government propaganda to the public, Chulalongkorn University political scienti
He added that he knows Apinan personally and realises that he would become very effective at communicating the government’s message to the public. This said, Trakoon raised doubts as to what the government has planned for the public.
“[Apinan] can respond to political policy and he’s harmless. But doesn’t the Public Relations Department already have qualified people to take the helm? Why bring in someone from outside?” he asked.
Trakoon also noted that this is the first time that a governor, who is under the Interior Ministry, has been given the top job at the Public Relations Department, which comes under the PM’s Office Ministry. Hence, he said, he could not help wondering whether Apinan had been installed for the state-controlled media.
However, he admitted that in reality, an administrator can be transferred to oversee any department, though it is not fair for senior and qualified people within the agency.
Sukhum Nualsakul, former rector of Ramkhamhaeng University and former dean of the Political Science Faculty at the same university, said he doesn’t see anything irregular about the appointment, which was announced by the Cabinet yesterday.
“Principally speaking this is not a problem. But I don’t know [Apinan]. My belief is that any government official can be transferred and this is normal. The position of governor is also not restricted to those from the Interior Ministry,” he said.
