Why has a weir built to celebrate Their Majesties the King and Queen but named after the prime minister's sister-in-law become such a major scandal? The uproar is so intense a hashtag, Fai Mae Phongphan Pattana, or Mother Phongphan Development Weir, has been created to collect news and opinions about the matter.
The outrage erupted after the Wives' Association of the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence's website (WAOPSD) uploaded a photo showing Phongphan Chan-o-cha, the wife of defence permanent secretary Preecha and sister-in-law of Prime Minister Prayut, presiding over the handover of a weir to villagers in Fang district of Chiang Mai.
Several aspects of the event seemed to bother people. First, the weir, built in honour of Their Majesties and most likely funded by a state budget, was named after Ms Phongphan. Another controversy revolves around a photo showing Ms Phongphan walking on a red carpet that looked out of place with the muddy ground on which other people who attended the ceremony were standing.
Atiya Achakulwisut is Contributing Editor, Bangkok Post.
This is just another case of brown-nosing by bureaucrats, many people commented, as the photos and story were shared online. The money used to build the weir came from taxpayers, not Ms Phongphan's purse, other users said. The labour was that of villagers. How shameless of the defence permanent secretary's wife to have it named after her.
Others asked if putting one's own name on public property is considered corruption. They also made note of Prime Minister Prayut's promise to eradicate corruption before he steps down from power.
- See main story: Officials in a firestorm
Following the controversy, the military has gone into damage control. First, the Wives' Association said it has taken down a banner that carried Ms Phongphan's photo and a message saying she was there to gift Fai Mae Phongphan Pattana to local villagers. The association argued the banner was only meant to welcome Ms Phongphan. It does not suggest the weir was named after her. Information on the association's website where the story came from in the first place was also edited. The part that stated the weir was named Fai Mae Phongphan Pattana was removed Monday.
The Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence, headed by Gen Preecha, which oversees the Wives' Association, headed by his wife, put up a strong buttress for the crumbling Phongphan weir. The Office said it was the villagers who conferred the name, Phongphan, the Mother of Development, to the weir out of respect for the defence permanent secretary's wife who has worked hard for their charity. While the Office mentioned that Ms Phongphan was willing to walk about one kilometre from the parking area to the weir on slippery, rain-soaked terrain, it seemed to have skipped over the part where the conspicuous red carpet was laid out for her.
Conspiracy theories obviously can't be ruled out in a case like this. News reports citing "close aides" to the Defence Ministry's power couple suggested there may be moles at work and the photos could have been leaked for political reasons. In his haste to create a diversion, the spin doctor must have forgotten that it was the Wives' Association's website itself that publicised everything -- the banner, the contentious name of the weir and the red carpet photo. Indeed, it seemed to be quite proud of the event.
The prime minister's sister-in-law needn't walk in the mud like regular people.
As the ministry tried to patch up the fast leaking weir-gate, more photos of Ms Phongphan, the Mother of Development were dug out by online users. One shows her sitting on a high chair while a dozen or so others in attendance sit cross-legged on the floor. Another has Ms Phongphan standing on a podium while a soldier carries a large umbrella for her.
As they keep spinning stories, the ministry or its wives club must have thought: Why are these things even scandalous? Military men live in a privileged world, with conscripts serving as domestic helpers for free. Their wives are also treated reverentially, escorted by umbrella bearers and seated higher than others. All of this is in line with a social hierarchy which is not explicitly spelled out but which everybody knows about.
That hierarchy is supported by an oppressive mentality, the same mindset that made a teacher believe he could throw a mug at a pupil and a senior student order a junior one to swim in a muddy pond until he nearly drowned. What Ms Phongphan did, would not have caused such a major uproar if she was not part of a regime that preaches reform and righteousness. The show of privilege may have rubbed people the wrong way but it's the downright hypocrisy that disgusts them.