A 1.8-million-baht amount may not be massive. It's no big deal even when placed in the context of government spending worth billions of baht a year.
Viewed through the lens of practicality, however, the relatively small disbursement of public money could provoke a rather large question.
Can the government sincerely justify the use of 1.8 million baht mainly to decorate the venue for a four-hour meeting?
- News story: Extravagance on display
Photos from the event, held on Friday at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, show flowers and exhibits artfully arranged for high-ranking officials including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as they met to discuss the country's tourism strategy.
After the media started to question whether the spending on eye candy was necessary, tourism permanent secretary Pongpanu Svetarundra said the ministry had studied mean market prices and taken into account the need to ensure the event was held smoothly. It hired a company to organise the meeting.
Not everyone is convinced.
A member of the Pheu Thai Party insisted it's inappropriate for the Tourism Ministry to spend 1.8 million baht organising a meeting.
Some people may say it's only natural for a party that stands opposite the military regime to say so. But the case has provoked scepticism from the government's own supporters too.
Marine biologist Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a member of the coup-appointed National Reform Council (NRC) which was later dissolved, questioned the use of public money to buy flowers for the bigwigs to enjoy for a few hours when officials in the field are not given enough money to ensure safety for tourists.
"One example is when two divers were recently injured by a speedboat at Maya Bay. Phi Phi National Park officials were unable to get to the scene to help because the office has only one boat which was engaged on another mission," Mr Thon wrote on his Facebook.
These decorations cost taxpayers 1.8 million baht for a half-day meeting attended by the prime minister.
He said the Phi Phi park office cannot afford even basic tourism infrastructure such as buoys to mark areas where boats can and cannot moor to avoid harming tourists and dwindling coral reefs.
How much good could 1.8 million baht do had it not been spent on the flower decorations, snacks and exhibits for high-ranking officials to enjoy for four hours? Mr Thon asked.
"It would buy two rubber boats complete with first aid kits which would allow marine national park staff to help tourists in emergencies and go on patrol," Mr Thon said.
The same amount would also secure a 1,000-metre-long demarcation line and 60 buoys which would solve the problem of unorganised boating activities at popular tourist destinations such as Talay Weak where a sand ridge is exposed during low tide that connects three small islands.
Or, the park office could have bought around 200 mooring buoys with the money.
That number of buoys could have saved up to a thousand coral from being destroyed by unscrupulous anglers each day.
"If the government wants people to spend money wisely, it has to do so itself," Mr Thon wrote.
"If the government sets out to implement a sustainable tourism strategy, it has to lead by example. Please pay more attention to what is going on in the sea than to what flowers are presented at a meeting," he added.
Government spokesman Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd was less than gracious in handling reporters' questions about whether the money had gone to waste.
He displayed unnecessary belligerence as he retorted: "Does it have to be for rice pledging to be appropriate?"
He showed a further lack of logic when he told people to consider how much revenue the Tourism Ministry has earned for the country.
He didn't mean a state agency that makes a lot of money can squander public funds any way it likes, hopefully.
Maj Gen Sansern urged the media to look at the big picture and avoid nitpicking about what he believed were small issues, like the 1.8 million spent on the meeting.
"Be a big mirror that reflects the whole of society, not a small one that shows only pimples or brown hair," he said.
It's true that 1.8 million baht is a relatively small amount but a pimple should be recognised as a pimple. Problems on one's face or indeed in the wider world often occur because people fail to acknowledge problems, no matter how small, and try to cover them up.
Atiya Achakulwisut is Contributing Editor, Bangkok Post.