Sukhumbhand and TV stations topped flood reality show

The show was set at several locations in Bangkok, mostly in the north and at the Flood Relief Operations Centre at Don Mueang Airport. Like what we see in TV reality shows, each day, contestants have to show up with new tactics to woo popular votes. Unlike some reality shows like “Academy Fantasia”, which features mainly young singing enthusiasts, or “Amazing Race”, which draws adventurers, this reality show sports contestants from various areas.
My special vote goes to Channel 3, which is working strenuously to help flood victims. Its anchors Sorrayuth Suthasanachinda and Kitti Singhapat were apparently devoted to easing the flood victims’ pain. They were the first news celebrities to be at the scene, including in Ayutthaya, which was hit the hardest. They remained there for days, beaming interviews and updated reports of the hardships they witnessed. The channel was so popular that its bank accounts, opened for public donations, were swelled with more than Bt200 million in deposits, aside from the donations of daily necessities.
Yes, the cash and the merchandise are sufficient to fill up thousands of relief kits, which cleverly show nothing but the channel’s logo.
And through the eyes of its cameramen, if the bags show other words, like attributions to all donors, that angle is not aired on TV.
Another special vote goes to
Thai PBS. As a station funded by our tax money, it features no outstanding anchormen. But it has been doing a great job in reporting unbiased images of many parts of Thailand.
Like Channel 3, its reporting contained scenes that feature relief kits, arranged with public donations but marked with the station’s logo. Again, if the bags show any other words, like attributions to all donors, that is not revealed on TV.
One vote also goes to former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. From a man who was reluctant to step into a flooded road in Nakhon Ratchasima while in office, he ably turned himself into someone of good use when the floods threatened the capital.
He did a good job in making an appearance in Phra Khanong, to steal the show from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Another point was scored when he proposed a plan to have the Irrigation Department divert more water to the east of Bangkok.
Half a point to Democrat Party’s Korn Chatikavanij, who was really great at spinning Facebook and Tweeter for public support. Hours before Abhisit proposed his plan to the government, Korn tweeted his followers to alert them of what would happen. The timing was perfect and he did a great job in pushing Abhisit, now acting as the opposition leader, not the prime minister.
I’m a bit reluctant to give a vote to Prime Minister Yingluck. Amid heavy criticism over the government’s poor water management, she has been so weak at defending it. And the weakness is demonstrated so often, through her choking voice or some tears. Hmm, like Charles Darwin’s popular code “The Survival of the Fittest”, it seems her presence in the show is shrinking.
And now, when the final day of voting arrives, it is very likely that I will cast all my votes for Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra.
Of all the contestants, he’s the best in gathering public support. His bravo performance has won the hearts of many residents in Bangkok – where 60 per cent of the votes in the previous general election went to Sukhumbhand’s Democrat Party – when he said he would be responsible for everything happening in Bangkok.
When the government invoked Section 31 of a disaster control law to override his authority, he cleverly exercised power through another section without being punished.
One day, he says the government is in charge of containing floods. Then another day, he takes over the power. The result is nobody knows for sure who’s in charge – FROC or the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. As the governor of Bangkok, despite its status as the country’s capital, Sukhumbhand overshadows our leading contestant – Yingluck.
Yes, the governor will win the race and the prize must be very rewarding for him – cheers and tears from the flood victims.