THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Political aircraft don’t fly far

Political aircraft don’t fly far

You might recall that in 2009 a 12-year-old Chiang Mai boy named Mong Thongdee

Unfortunately Mong was not registered as a Thai national, so he couldn’t get a passport. Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government smelled an opportunity for free publicity and arranged the passport and even paid for the trip. Mong finished third in the Japanese even but returned home as a celebrity. 
Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich, then minister of Science and Technology, and her lackeys smothered Mong at the airport for photo ops. He met Abhisit in person. He was appointed “youth ambassador of science and technology”, whatever that was, promised Thai citizenship and a full scholarship up to PhD level. 
A TV news show recently followed up on the story and found that Mong, so to be 19, still loves flying paper planes but still has no citizenship and never got a scholarship, even for high school.
Abhisit’s government deserves condemnation for callously seeking popularity without heed for the feelings of a boy whose dreams have since fizzled because of false promises.
Somsak Pola
nationthailand