Published on January 18, 2006
Since their inception, community radio stations have stood out as an effective tool in developing communities. As their name attests, they broadcast news of interest to people living in a particular community.
Indeed, 102.25FM serves this very purpose. Located in Rangsit near Dhammakaya Temple, it broadcast information yesterday that should please Dhammakaya supporters – a halfway victory over Thai Beverage’s planned listing on the SET.
A monk calling himself “Phi Yai” (Big Brother) read out loud the statement from the Securities and Exchange Commission declaring that it was delaying a decision on the alcohol company’s domestic share offering. “You [SEC] are our darling and you should remain as good as this,” the monk said in a voice that overflowed with approval. Following his speech came a verse from a famous pop song by Haruthai Muangboonsri (Ou): “Thur pen khon dee khong chan. Thur pen khon keng khong chan talodpai.” (“You are my sweetheart. You’ll forever be my hero”.) So this community radio station does even more than it is supposed to do: aside from broadcasting information that people of the community should be interested in, it also entertains them with music. ------------------------------- Mixed fortunes On Monday, Siam Paragon unveiled its sale figures for the first month since the luxury shopping complex opened its doors on December 9. The executives were not quite happy with the total sales figure of Bt900 million – small potatoes given that the complex welcomed 100,000 visitors per day. The executives also acknowledged that most of the visitors just came to check what Siam Paragon has on offer and that it could take some time for the shopping complex to learn who exactly are its target clients. This reminded some observers of the improbable scenes they witnessed during the New Year holidays when well over 100,000 daily visitors flocked there. Parked at the garage one day was a pickup truck from a western province, its cargo bed fully loaded with people eating lunch that they had brought from their home village. Ten minutes later, they were ready to explore the complex. It is not surprising that Siam Paragon welcomes a large number of visitors each day, but achieves little in selling pricey items – not even lunch! achara_d@nationgroup.com
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