On Wednesday, the public relations team of the Chiang Mai provincial administration ran a much-criticised public relations campaign showing provincial governor Thosapol Phueanudom eating fish caught from the Kok River.
The image, posted on the administration’s Facebook page, showed the governor giving a thumbs up with a plate of fried fish in front of him with a caption saying: “Chiang Mai residents and tourists can be assured that fish from the Kok River caught in the Mae Ai district are safe to eat”.
Within an hour, the site drew a massive amount of comments, forcing the public relations team to remove the post on the same day.
This PR stunt reflects damage control strategies the Thai government has employed in dealing with food safety issues.
Indeed, Mr Thosapol is not the first to try and fail in using this kind of stunt.
During the avian flu crisis in 2004, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra launched a PR campaign where he ate fried chicken in a public display of support for the chicken industry.
This symbolic meal did little to bolster public trust, and the subsequent outbreak in the country led to the deaths of over 62 million birds and 17 human cases, with 12 fatalities.
Two decades later, we see big local governments like the Chiang Mai provincial administration still resorting to the same old PR gimmicks instead of tackling the pollution problem and food safety concerns at their core.
In March, heavy metals such as arsenic were detected in the Kok and Sai rivers, which flow through northern Thailand before merging with the Mekong. Since then, villagers living along these rivers have had to live in fear of water pollution and the health impacts that might arise from consuming fish from these waterways.
The heavy metal pollution stems from sub-standard mining operations in Myanmar’s Shan State.
Thai authorities have merely banned villagers from consuming the water and run water tests. Promises to remove sediment from rivers have gone nowhere. At the international level, efforts to bring the issue to the attention of the Myanmar government or China, the source of the mine investors, have also made no inroads.
The Anutin government’s new environment minister, Suchart Chomklin, travelled to Chiang Rai province on Thursday to listen to villagers about how to tackle the problem.
After meeting with civil society members, Mr Suchart promised he would provide “tangible” solutions. He did not specify what solutions would be, but the environment ministry has been addressing this issue for six months. At this stage, affected locals expect the minister to present a solution rather than listen to their concerns.
It is hoped that the new environment minister will demonstrate his sincerity and efficacy by establishing systematic surveillance and water testing, and by publishing real data to the community.
In terms of removing sediment, the ministry must consult with the community and experts on how it can safely be done. For food safety, the government must use professional laboratory testing to test the quality of fish caught from the polluted river.
People in the affected regions waited in vain for the previous government to tackle the problem. It is hoped that the Anutin government, with its new environment minister, will be different.