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A quiet prime minister is no fun
Comment by Boonleua Chatree
When Prime Minister Chaovalit Yongjaiyuth first said he would
like to hold a 6 six month moratorium on interviews with the media, it seemed to
be a reasonable request. Former Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanond had once done
this also.
But, from the feel of the general atmosphere in various circles, I would like to
request that the Prime Minister change his policy and continue giving
interviews.
The philosopher Thomas Mann said, “Speaking truths which put one at a
disadvantage is better than speaking falsehoods which put one at an advantage.”
I’m not saying the Prime Minister is engaging in falsehoods. I merely think that
he has a lot of annoying issues which he would rather not talk about, as he does
not wish to be taken out of context.
But this could also cause people to think of the Prime Minister in an
inauspicious manner.
We think that Frank S. Simon was stating a fact when he said that, “Newspeople
tend to think the worst of any politician, until they are proven wrong.” This is
actually beneficial to any political system. Tacitly agreeing with everything a
political administrator was doing would quickly result in chaos.
In several interviews with the Prime Minister, when he was Supreme Commander of
the Armed Forces, I found him to be a man of high intelligence and capability
Thailand’s young people are not yet familiar with their Prime Minister. Today’s
youth is hungry for knowledge about their country’s governing system and
political workings. They are not yet jaded and need to ask questions of their
leaders.
If I were transferred to the News Division of government house, the first thing
I would like to ask the Prime Minister is “If Mr. Sanoh Thienthong and Mr. Suvit
Rangsitphol became engaged in fisticuffs, whose side would you take? Who would
be asked to resign from the New Aspiration party first?” These types of
questions are certainly annoying, I am sure.
But just think about a spiffy epigram coined by president Theodore Roosevelt of
the United States. He was talking about the necessity of politicians having an
education. “An uneducated politician can only steal the bread from the dining
car of a train, whereas an educated politician can steal the whole train.”
I think there may be some people stealing bread in the government. If you start
giving interviews again, I’ll tell you who they are.
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Sometimes it’s better to bite your tongue
by Tookada
Your parents might have told you to always tell the
truth. Most of the time I agree with them, but sometimes it’s much better
not to say what you think. For example, 10 imported occasions:
1. Never say: ‘Well, I did warn you’ to your friend who is still waiting to
hear from the man she went out with the other night.
2. Never whisper to a stranger at a wedding: ‘I wonder how long this is
going to last’. The odds that you are talking to a relative of the bride or
the groom is quite high.
3. Never tell a police officer who just stopped you for jumping a red light:
‘You’d better spend your time catching a real criminal”.
4. Never ever say what you really think when someone asks you: ‘What do you
think?” Remember, they only want you to agree with them.
5. Never tell your host that the food is not to your liking. Always
appreciate if someone cooks for you. Think positive: It only can get better.
6. Never say: ‘I know it is not much, but it is the thought what counts’
when you give someone a present. They might just believe the first bit.
7. Never explain: ‘Oh, I have been there, once... but never, ever again,’ to
an exited friend who has just booked a two week holiday to Bali.
8. Never admit to your husband in a moment of honesty that you quite like
the look of the man who just moved in next door. Pretend you didn’t even
know he existed.
9. Never tell your kids that you hated math at school - and next time you
are expecting an A on their next exams.
10. Never reply to someone’s compliment with: ‘Oh, but my legs (my nose, my
hair a.s.o.) are not perfect. With doing so you make them aware of your
little imperfections.
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