Support And A Scolding For Yingluck On Flood Tour

[MaiChai]

Alot of Bangkokians are very angry about the lack of assistance from the government. For example you cannot travel anywhere without paying extoritionate prices for boat trips. Now these should be free and being run by Army/Navy/etc.

Whats the point of PR photo ops?

[zydeco]

FWIW, I went into Lamlukka in Pathumthani today. I was with a relief truck, which was a converted garbage truck, that was organized by an NGO, a private royal charity, and included donations from individual Thai people. Apparently this has been going on for a month there, the daily relief trucks that is, at least that is what I was told. There are some dry spots throughout the area but some parts are completely submerged--about like my house on Phutthamonthon Sai 3. About 500 people are on two floors of an evacuation center. Most of the others remain in their homes, including one old man who has water up to a high level perch in his one story home. Our boat actually went into his front door. I am amazed at the resourcefulness and charitable spirit of the victims of the flood. Again, fwiw, nearly all the local people I met say they have received no visits from any government official and they have received no help, including supplies, at all from the government. The organizing seemed to be done by the local village mayor, a teacher, the community health official (a nurse), and other volunteers. They can persevere, they are persevering, but they deserve better than they're receiving. All IMO, of course.

Edited November 4, 2011 by zydeco

[geriatrickid]

Alot of Bangkokians are very angry about the lack of assistance from the government. For example you cannot travel anywhere without paying extoritionate prices for boat trips. Now these should be free and being run by Army/Navy/etc.

Whats the point of PR photo ops?

Fine, then go and convince the military to do that, because they currently are neither interested , nor capable of providing the taxi service you demand. The people gouging on the boat rides are locals. Instead of seeking to blame the government for the behaviour of the populace, why not hold the gougers responsible?

The military has been very savvy in its deployment, concentrating on the delivery of flood relief and the reinforcement of flood barriers. Don't think for a moment that the arm doesn' have an eye on the potential PR backlash and is acting accordingly.

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed.

[scorecard]

Alot of Bangkokians are very angry about the lack of assistance from the government. For example you cannot travel anywhere without paying extoritionate prices for boat trips. Now these should be free and being run by Army/Navy/etc.

Whats the point of PR photo ops?

Fine, then go and convince the military to do that, because they currently are neither interested , nor capable of providing the taxi service you demand. The people gouging on the boat rides are locals. Instead of seeking to blame the government for the behaviour of the populace, why not hold the gougers responsible?

The military has been very savvy in its deployment, concentrating on the delivery of flood relief and the reinforcement of flood barriers. Don't think for a moment that the arm doesn' have an eye on the potential PR backlash and is acting accordingly.

Well shouldn't the government (after all they have many ministries and agencies) have, by this stage - two months into flooding, got some free boat services organized, not for pleasure trips, for essentials, for medical cases, for government personnel to 'do the rounds' to check people are ok, see if they need urgent assistance, check if they have eaten, organize urgent medical care, see if pregnant women need to get to hospital, etc, etc, etc? Let's not forget many people don't have access to electricity so they cannot charge their cell phone batteries to call for help.

You can't have it both ways g'kid.

By the way, where's you heroes chalerm and the new national police chief? Aren't they supposed to be protecting citizens (in both flooded or not flooded area)?

Edited November 4, 2011 by scorecard

[timberboy]

There seems to be alot of nit picking in most of the comments i have read. The situation is bad and everyone in the affected areas have in one way or another had their lives disrupted. People understandably have alot of emotion and anger is usually the first one to release, even if the persons are good people and really dont intend to make those remarks.

The people of Thailand need to put politics aside during his horrific disaster. I am sure that if the shoe was on the other foot ,and Mr Abhisit was still the Prime Minister, he would say "we are doing our best". And from the very first day, he was working "with" the Prime Minister because the bottom line is the people are more important than politics!!!

My best wishes and prayers for Bangkok and the affected peoples of Thailand :jap:

Edited November 5, 2011 by metisdead
Font resized to default forum font size.

[muchogra]

Everything seems strange here.

K. Thaksin is conspicuously quiet. PM Yingluck was fed information that had prompted her to make several ridiculous public remarks. All the government political big wigs are conspicuously absent from appearance and news, left are only the junior ones filling the scene.

Is there an undercurrent working to unseat PM Yinluck? K. Thaksin may have detected it and feels his involvement in the open will only aid in whatever in the process. Could he be working behind the curtain?

As a non-political individual I feel sorry for PM Yinluck and her family.

[plumeria]

Get out of the boat and walk through the water like the rest of us. She feels stressed -Her stress is nothing compared to that of those living under or in the water and getting sweet FA from her and her government.

If I saw the PM chest deep in mucky water my opinion might change.

Especially if it was where the green mambas escaped and the crocodiles are attacking people and she was not ringed with protectors.

Her house is NOT flooded, it might be.

But why would anyone that rich be stressed? She won't even need a loan to repair any damage.

I'm surprised nobody showed their anger and resentment in a more physical way.

But, of course, she paved the way first with gifts to the locals.

Nothing was improved at all but now they can "survive" because they beheld her face?

Of all the quotes of all the people commenting that day in that place, only a die hard supporter of the PM would have chosen that one.

[metisdead]

Nonsense posts and replies have been removed, off topic bickering posts have been removed. Posts using derogatory nicknames or intentional misspelling of people’s names will be deleted. If you don’t want your post to be deleted, spell people’s names correctly.

[petedk]

Alot of Bangkokians are very angry about the lack of assistance from the government. For example you cannot travel anywhere without paying extoritionate prices for boat trips. Now these should be free and being run by Army/Navy/etc.

Whats the point of PR photo ops?

Fine, then go and convince the military to do that, because they currently are neither interested , nor capable of providing the taxi service you demand. The people gouging on the boat rides are locals. Instead of seeking to blame the government for the behaviour of the populace, why not hold the gougers responsible?

The military has been very savvy in its deployment, concentrating on the delivery of flood relief and the reinforcement of flood barriers. Don't think for a moment that the arm doesn' have an eye on the potential PR backlash and is acting accordingly.

Well shouldn't the government (after all they have many ministries and agencies) have, by this stage - two months into flooding, got some free boat services organized, not for pleasure trips, for essentials, for medical cases, for government personnel to 'do the rounds' to check people are ok, see if they need urgent assistance, check if they have eaten, organize urgent medical care, see if pregnant women need to get to hospital, etc, etc, etc? Let's not forget many people don't have access to electricity so they cannot charge their cell phone batteries to call for help.

You can't have it both ways g'kid.

By the way, where's you heroes chalerm and the new national police chief? Aren't they supposed to be protecting citizens (in both flooded or not flooded area)?

There have been free buses in Bangkok for the past few years. Now that these buses can't run why not transfer the budget to boat owners and pay them to ferry the needy around for free?

All it needs is a little goodwill from the government.

[ThaiKiwi]

You dropped this part of the description which puts the expression of anger in context; "We were told to come out for supplies, but there are not enough for everyone,'' one man said.

The people were not described as jeering the PM.

And who's responsible for the provision of relief supplies? He has come out to complain to the PM. He is angry because there aren't enough relief supplies. That's jeering.

There are plenty of supplies in the allocated evacuation centres. No one should expect free supplies to be delivered to each and every home.

[ballpoint]

If I saw the PM chest deep in mucky water my opinion might change.

Especially if it was where the green mambas escaped and the crocodiles are attacking people and she was not ringed with protectors...

She'd probably mistake them for Chalerm, Jatuporn, her brother, and all the other poisonous reptiles she deals with professionally and familiarly.

[hammered]

She is doing what any PM anywhere would do. Nothing special, but at least she was there and exposed to potential abuse although seemingly not getting it although obviously frustration is there as is anger although it seems to be directed more at BMA officialdom by those communities suffering. Yingluck does seem better at mixing with the people than her predecessor too

[ballpoint]

She is doing what any PM anywhere would do. Nothing special, but at least she was there and exposed to potential abuse although seemingly not getting it although obviously frustration is there as is anger although it seems to be directed more at BMA officialdom by those communities suffering. Yingluck does seem better at mixing with the people than her predecessor too

Mixing with the people? Sitting in a boat surrounded by people up to their chests in water? Best get your feet out of the flood, you're getting water on the brain.

[hammered]

She is doing what any PM anywhere would do. Nothing special, but at least she was there and exposed to potential abuse although seemingly not getting it although obviously frustration is there as is anger although it seems to be directed more at BMA officialdom by those communities suffering. Yingluck does seem better at mixing with the people than her predecessor too

Mixing with the people? Sitting in a boat surrounded by people up to their chests in water? Best get your feet out of the flood, you're getting water on the brain.

It beats disappearing into an army base, declaring an SOE shooting those trying to break dams etc. Like I said nothing special but it seems to have gone down well with the people she visited mostly and that is what counts. Plus if someone had wanted to abuse her they could easily have judging from footage and proximity. At least this PM goes out among the great unwashed in a time of crisis and doesnt hide in army base unseen for days on end and that does deserve to be commended.

[Buchholz]

She is doing what any PM anywhere would do. Nothing special, but at least she was there and exposed to potential abuse although seemingly not getting it although obviously frustration is there as is anger although it seems to be directed more at BMA officialdom by those communities suffering. Yingluck does seem better at mixing with the people than her predecessor too

Mixing with the people? Sitting in a boat surrounded by people up to their chests in water? Best get your feet out of the flood, you're getting water on the brain.

It beats disappearing into an army base

Which is not as bad as disappearing into a family bunker on his estate and hiding for days and days

(going back one more administration)

.

[ballpoint]

It beats disappearing into an army base, declaring an SOE shooting those trying to break dams etc. Like I said nothing special but it seems to have gone down well with the people she visited mostly and that is what counts. Plus if someone had wanted to abuse her they could easily have judging from footage and proximity. At least this PM goes out among the great unwashed in a time of crisis and doesnt hide in army base unseen for days on end and that does deserve to be commended.

How often would she be out and about if her car/boat were to be attacked with the sole aim of beating, if not killing her? How long would it take the army to start shooting those breaking down the dams if, when they came to prevent such activity, they were attacked with grenades and rifle fire? Why is it that, in a fragile time for the government, we are not seeing "random" acts of violence committed around Bangkok in a further attempt to destabilise the situation and government, as we saw last year? Because those responsible are either on the side of, or actually in, the government. So Yingluck is being paddled about in her little boat, handing out packages to fortuitously passing monks who just happen to be paddling by. So what? She's doing what she was chosen to do, act it up in front of the camera while the dirty work goes on in the background. (Leading to the oft asked "where's Chalerm?" question). It is surprising that most of the posters who were last year trying to tell us they supported the reds' stand against the "elite", and not the PTP/Thaksin, are now to be found getting so worked up about any criticism of Yingluck and her/Thaksin's government, when their actions/inactions have led to a huge number of very unelite people's suffering. No doubt these "anti-elite" posters will be the first ones on here supporting any popular uprising once the flood waters go down?

[ballpoint]

She is doing what any PM anywhere would do. Nothing special, but at least she was there and exposed to potential abuse although seemingly not getting it although obviously frustration is there as is anger although it seems to be directed more at BMA officialdom by those communities suffering. Yingluck does seem better at mixing with the people than her predecessor too

Mixing with the people? Sitting in a boat surrounded by people up to their chests in water? Best get your feet out of the flood, you're getting water on the brain.

It beats disappearing into an army base

Which is not as bad as disappearing into a family bunker on his estate and hiding for days and days

(going back one more administration)

.

Or even disappearing to Dubai, and taking up foreign citizenship, while calling for others to risk their lives for you.

[TAWP]

No, but I have been on the other end of handing out relief supplies. It is usually a massive crowd surge with people grabbing for whatever they can get. Some people take more than they need stripping the trucks bare with the old, infirm and young pushed aside. The relief agencies get blamed because the relief supplies run out fast.

Unlike you I am in Thailand and unlike you I am out doing relief help with boats, handing out goods (food, water, medicine) to residents that are in chest-deep or worse areas.

Your description is far-far-far from anything I have ever seen and a complete disrespectful way of trying to whitewash the PM. Everyone I have meet have been calm and orderly, never ever any fighting for any goods.

Shame on you.

Edited November 5, 2011 by TAWP

[bigbamboo]

No, but I have been on the other end of handing out relief supplies. It is usually a massive crowd surge with people grabbing for whatever they can get. Some people take more than they need stripping the trucks bare with the old, infirm and young pushed aside. The relief agencies get blamed because the relief supplies run out fast.

Unlike you I am in Thailand and unlike you I am out doing relief help with boats, handing out goods (food, water, medicine) to residents that are in chest-deep or worse areas.

Your description is far-far-far from anything I have ever seen and a complete disrespectful way of trying to whitewash the PM. Everyone I have meet have been calm and orderly, never ever any fighting for any goods.

Shame on you.

Who was giving you relief then, Geriatric?