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BURNING ISSUE
PM's enhanced Facebook usage could backfire
Samudcha Hoonsara
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- After being in office for nearly two years, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has recently turned to Facebook to express her mind on topics she does not want to talk directly to the media about.

Unlike her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was outspoken and liked to exchange criticisms publicly with his critics and opponents, Yingluck rarely talks about serious political issues. She has sometimes just walked away when reporters tried to corner her for comments.

But the prime minister surprised the public when she gave a speech in Mongolia and spoke her mind out about hot political issues in Thailand.

Since then, Yingluck has been using her Facebook page to speak her mind. She has also posted messages on her Facebook timeline to try to clear away doubts on certain hot issues.

Thai politicians and celebrities often use Facebook as a channel for delivering their messages. There have been several occasions when reporters have cited messages on the Facebook timeline of leading politicians and celebrities.

But these politicians or celebrities rarely follow up their Facebook messages. They just post them to start new topics without returning to answer questions posted in the comments field.

Two people very close to Yingluck have been using this tactic. They are Thaksin and his son, Pantongtae Shinawatra.

Thaksin has recently stepped up the use of his Facebook wall to express his thoughts again after becoming quiet after the great flood of 2011. At that time, he stopped posting on Facebook apparently because he did not want to steal the show from his sister.

Now, he has been posting messages on the political situation again, and his Facebook messages always have an impact on Thai politics.

Meanwhile, Yingluck's nephew Pantongtae has been using his Facebook wall to defend his aunt on all the major issues. It should be noted that he rarely gives interviews to reporters. He often starts new topics on Facebook, leading to questions of whether he really wrote the messages himself.

So, father and son have been using Facebook as their mouthpieces to retaliate against the government's opponents in cyberspace on behalf of the prime minister.

But this has led to concern among Yingluck's aides as to whether these Facebook messages could become a double-edged sword. This is because Thaksin and Pantongtae are very close to Yingluck and if they make blunders in their Facebook messages, it could be difficult for her to distance herself from them. She could not claim that the messages are personal issues of Thaksin and her nephew because any message disseminated in cyberspace would automatically be regarded as a public issue.

It would be hard for Yingluck to come up with an explanation to control the damage caused by the Facebook messages posted by her brother or nephew. And she would face a similar difficult situation if she made a blunder through her own Facebook posts.

These risks exist because sometimes written messages can be misunderstood by people who have different backgrounds and different levels of understanding. Sometimes, the writer may want to communicate one thing but society gets another message.

If that happens, the use of Facebook as a channel to communicate with the public may harm the prime minister more than benefiting her. And the political situation may worsen instead of improving.


-- The Nation 2013-05-17

[Mampara]

silence is golden

[Bellweather]

Self inflicted injury. Too much arrogance, over confidence , ego and good old fashioned stupidity at play here.

[Pib]

Should hope she understand the Facebook privacy settings.

[jaidam]

"Thaksin Shinawatra, who was outspoken and liked to exchange criticisms publicly with his critics"

Utter nonsense. My own recollection, and of anyone else here during his reign, was that Thaksin did not allow any opposing voice, suing any that dared for a billion baht, as well as other threats(such as cancelling lucrative govt ad spending, or making people disappear ie southern rights lawyer) to stop opposing voices.

[Thaddeus]

"Thaksin Shinawatra, who was outspoken and liked to exchange criticisms publicly with his critics"

Utter nonsense. My own recollection, and of anyone else here during his reign, was that Thaksin did not allow any opposing voice, suing any that dared for a billion baht, as well as other threats(such as cancelling lucrative govt ad spending, or making people disappear ie southern rights lawyer) to stop opposing voices.

That's my recollection too and I suspect many others.

From the OP

Thaksin has recently stepped up the use of his Facebook wall to express his thoughts again after becoming quiet after the great flood of 2011. At that time, he stopped posting on Facebook apparently because he did not want to steal the show from his sister.

He went quiet because he wanted to distance himself from the situation.

[seajae]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

[MikeOboe57]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

Let's be fair. Y has a unique ability. She can not only make a boring speech sound boring, she can even make an interesting speech sound boring and uninspired. That is why she gets away with the most outrageous and preposterous statements because no one bothers to listen. It is only after the media print the text of her speeches that there is a public outcry - too late.

[indyuk]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

[Soutpeel]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

My My..the red lensed spectacles on today I see....

Can't see what all the fuss is about....all her FB posts that will be:

"I hungry"...posts picture of food currently eaten,

Current score in Texa's hold em or Angry birds

"can anyone give me the GPS coordinates for the parliament cant find the place"

Reposting stuff from her big brothers FB page...

[jaidam]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

Whilst gushing about her "honorable academic credentials" you forgot to mention her magical abilities. She acquired a masters degree from a US university in the English language although she can barely string two words together in English. Emotional thinkers will accept that she is a genius, logical thinkers will come to another conclusion.

[lannarebirth]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that's satire.

[MaxLee]

"Hello, dear people of Thailand, my Facebook password is "Yingluck", so easy peasy.... bye bye

[saltandpepper]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

That is the best joke I have ever read on TV....Thanks for the laugh.

[Baerboxer]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

This is your attempt at satire, right? No one could really believe any of what you actually write. Everybody knows who runs this government and how she got her wealth - think nepotism, keep it in the family; and the academic credentials are demonstrated by the astute answering of journalists' questions and wonderful parliamentary orations are they? She runs away from answering questions because someone else has to tell her what to say. Or do you think its just shyness? You insult some of the 99.9% of the population of Thailand and other Asean nations, unless of course you happen to be able to produce some facts to substantiate your rose tinted view.

[Fred B]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

Whilst gushing about her "honorable academic credentials" you forgot to mention her magical abilities. She acquired a masters degree from a US university in the English language although she can barely string two words together in English. Emotional thinkers will accept that she is a genius, logical thinkers will come to another conclusion.

"her thriving businesses" is another error. She's divested herself from the businesses. She was only in business in the first place as a figurehead in her brother's businesses.

"her legally acquired wealth of half a billion baht" is another misnomer. She made nearly a billion baht alone on the Shin sale. She's evidently somehow managed to lose a third of a billion baht from then based on her asset declarations. More of her "thriving business" abilities?

[Thai at Heart]

Increased not enhanced.

[ratcatcher]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

Since you are working on stupid remarks, it might be of interest to you that actually His majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is head of state in Thailand.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is merely the present (maybe not for much longer?) Prime Minister and even with her "honorable academic credentials" still manages to embarrass herself on the world stage.

As for her being in the .01% of the population of southeast Asia, due to her wealth,businesses and status,one can only assume that you are attempting to amuse the members of this forum. Once again.

[Soutpeel]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

Since you are working on stupid remarks, it might be of interest to you that actually His majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is head of state in Thailand.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is merely the present (maybe not for much longer?) Prime Minister and even with her "honorable academic credentials" still manages to embarrass herself on the world stage.

As for her being in the .01% of the population of southeast Asia, due to her wealth,businesses and status,one can only assume that you are attempting to amuse the members of this forum. Once again.

Actually she is in the .000000000001% of the population of SEA...as there are not many clones around me thinks...

[ginjag]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

Posters on forum were not born with anti Yingluck feelings, so 95% of them must be misguided ???

[bigbamboo]

Should a national leader really be using Facebook in the first place? And how does she find the time?

Not sure how the notion of using FB is going to stop the media getting hold of it. Oak uses it so they will actually both to pay attention to him.

And if she doesn't want to talk to the media directly there's always Parliament.

[Robby nz]

The complaints department tells me there is a recent entry on Yingluk's F B page that says people must be quiet and gentle with no demos and let Thaksin come back peacefully. Or Thai words to that effect.

A wonderful dream last night.

[waza]

My understanding was that both Yingluck's and Oak's Facebook accounts were controlled by Thaksin's cyber warrior program.

"At the order of an "overseas person", Phumtham Wechayachai, chief of a 10-member special force named "Cyber Warriors", has opened a new political battlefront in the social networks with a "war room" at the Pheu Thai Party's headquarters. Their daily routine is to screen information from the cyber-world and forward it to the party's strategic team, which will order the party's spokesman team to call a press conference to counter or inform the public on certain issues........An article titled "See through Pheu Thai's three cyber-experts and track Oak Panthongtae fan page" written by Nattawut Karanyaso was published last month in Rajadamnern, a monthly political and media publication by the Thai Journalists Association. It featured an investigative report about people behind the Facebook page of Panthongtae "Oak" Shinawatra, Thaksin's son............Apart from Oak's fan page, the Pheu Thai Party has another team led by Chayika Wongnapachan, Yaowaret Shinawatra's daughter, to manage Yingluck Shinawatra's Facebook page by posting all positive information about the prime minister."

Edited May 17, 2013 by waza

[seajae]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

having money does not mean you are not stupid, she makes a blonde look good with all her comments. She is a puppet pm, she doesnt attend bugger all parliamentary sessions and is more at home in the beauty parlour. Her brother does/organizes/dictates everything for her, in any other country she would never make it to even be a member of parliament because she lacks the knowledge to do anything like most of the thai politicians, in any other country they would be locked up as criminals. She only gets peoples attention because of her stupid comments or because most men want to get her in the cot, makes the cartoonists comments pretty spot on really.

[bigbamboo]

she doesnt speak publicly because she is not able to, one needs to have a brain for that. On facebook her speech writers can simply do it all for her so she doesnt stick her foot in her mouth.

An insulting and a pretty stupid remark. The PM's postition as head of state, her honorable academic credentials her thriving businesses and her legally aquired wealth of half a billion Baht set her above, in every respect , 99.9 % of the population of Thailand or any other Asean nation one can think of. Likekly she can run rings around you too.

Notwithstanding your obvious admiration for Yingluck's remarkable academic and business acumen I think you'll find that she cannot add the title head of state to list of outstanding achievements.

That title belongs to one even more widely admired than her. And to give you a clue it's not her brother.

[Fred B]

My understanding was that both Yingluck's and Oak's Facebook accounts were controlled by Thaksin's cyber warrior program.

"At the order of an "overseas person", Phumtham Wechayachai, chief of a 10-member special force named "Cyber Warriors", has opened a new political battlefront in the social networks with a "war room" at the Pheu Thai Party's headquarters. Their daily routine is to screen information from the cyber-world and forward it to the party's strategic team, which will order the party's spokesman team to call a press conference to counter or inform the public on certain issues........An article titled "See through Pheu Thai's three cyber-experts and track Oak Panthongtae fan page" written by Nattawut Karanyaso was published last month in Rajadamnern, a monthly political and media publication by the Thai Journalists Association. It featured an investigative report about people behind the Facebook page of Panthongtae "Oak" Shinawatra, Thaksin's son............Apart from Oak's fan page, the Pheu Thai Party has another team led by Chayika Wongnapachan, Yaowaret Shinawatra's daughter, to manage Yingluck Shinawatra's Facebook page by posting all positive information about the prime minister."

Fake Facebook Fill-ins Facilitating Falsehoods For Fellow Family Flunkies

[Artisi]

I really like the comment heard some time back, "if you have nothing constructive to say, say it on facebook."

[rubl]

It would seem this article from 2012-11-09 is still actual

"The growing influence of social media"
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/596754-the-growing-influence-of-social-media-thaksin-assassination-plot/