THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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PM joins hands with ‘Toon’, thanks him for support – and waffles on health care funding

PM joins hands with ‘Toon’, thanks him for  support – and waffles on health care funding

ROCK STAR Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai yesterday visited Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House to promote his “Kao Kon La Kao” charity run.

While the epic run, which aims to raise funds to purchase medical equipment for 11 hospitals, is premised on Thailand’s chronic medical budget crisis, the ruling government has responded by repeatedly calling for donations to Artiwara’s project.

PM joins hands with ‘Toon’, thanks him for  support – and waffles on health care funding
Several government bodies, including Parliament, have run matching donation campaigns in support of Artiwara’s run while Prayut personally gave an undisclosed sum to the rocker yesterday. 
“The country faces many problems and you have come to help alleviate them,” Prayut said to the Bodyslam lead vocalist.
“The government already takes care of those hospitals. However, we have to admit that most of the budget goes to health insurance. That causes us considerable problems as we don’t have much money,” the premier said.

PM joins hands with ‘Toon’, thanks him for  support – and waffles on health care funding
“If we allocate too much money [to public health], that would affect other development,” he said.
He added that most hospitals use their budget to “fix infrastructure”, resulting in a lack of needed medical equipment.
Holding the singer’s hand, Prayut praised Artiwara for participating in the government-promoted schemes, from Thailand 4.0 to volunteering in tribute for the late King Rama IX. 
A debated issue related to the country’s insufficient health budget is the universal healthcare scheme, which for years has allowed low-income people nationwide to access low-cost or free health services. 
Developed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration over a decade ago, universal healthcare has been so popular that every succeeding government, including the junta’s, has kept it alive.

PM joins hands with ‘Toon’, thanks him for  support – and waffles on health care funding
While claiming there is not enough money to fund public healthcare, the military-installed government has been criticised for finding funds for substantial spending increases on security, in particular military hardware. Meanwhile, the government has encouraged people to voluntarily donate to charities that keep essential programmes, such as healthcare, on life support.
Artiwara has so far completed 1,300.5 kilometres in his record-setting cross-country run, which started on November 1 in Yala. Military and police officers have provided him support along the way.
He made it to Bangkok on Sunday before taking two days off on medical advice. As of press time yesterday, donations had reached Bt530.72 million of the goal of Bt700 million. 
Civil servants at Government House swarmed the front of Command Building I, where the rocker and his parents met with the premier. Members of the media also flocked to the area to give Artiwara thousands of baht they had raised. 
“He [Prayut] gave us courage. He told me to take a rest and succeed in the mission,” the 38-year-old singer briefly said while making his way through the crowd.
“What we have gathered is greater than helping hospitals. We can unite the giving hearts of Thai people,” he reportedly said to Prayut. “We aim to gather a little money from many people rather than a lot of money from just a few people.”

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