Freedom of speech (actions) harm Chiang Rai celebration

At Rai Mae Fah Luang or Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park, a lavish dinner was hosted on Jan 26 as part of Chiang Rai's 750-year anniversary celebration.

To commemorate the day that King Mengrai established the Lanna kingdom, which was later annexed to the ancient Thai empire, many influential figures in the province were present mostly in their traditional costume. Among the guests were liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi and his wife, Khunying Wanna, and Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, chief of Toshiba Thailand.

The guests enjoyed food from famous venues in the province plus a live show, hosted on the open ground amid cool winter weather. This followed religious ceremony in the morning at the King Mengrai Monument. Cultural shows also staged at night in the city. Overall, it seemed to be a big event. Why not, not many cities in the world can maintain their root for as long as 750 years.

Unfortunately, it was not as big as expected. Aside from the celebration on that particular day, the anniversary itself won little exposure on the Internet. Some posts appeared on the Facebook page of Tourism Authority of Thailand's Chiang Rai Office, among posts on new promotions from Nok Air - one of five local airlines which operate from the province.

What's strange is when you searched for this, springing up was news reports late last year about poor planning for the celebration. This concerned some locals who were dismayed by lack of details from the local authorities.

Indeed, some locals are still convinced that the local authorities could have done better.

One said that poor planning stemmed from poor cooperation between the former governor and TAT. It was too late for the new governor, who took office days before the event took place, to look into details and change anything.

The other pointed the fingers to a row between the provincial administrative body (Aor Bor Jor) and Chiang Rai Municipality. They argued during the event planning, just like when they opened their own walking street versions on two venues.

"As the streets are closed on different days, Friday and Saturday, those vendors are the same. As there is more than one, the charm is diminished. Fewer shoppers are now seen on the streets," he said.

Both believed that if all lent their best cooperation, this event would have drawn more attention from people in the province and those living elsewhere in Thailand.

As a confirmation to their notes, only few foreigners were spotted at the King Mengrai Monument on that day. Indeed, as the first capital of Lanna kingdom, Chiang Rai has a lot of cultural attractions to offer. Just in the district of Chaing Saen alone, there are ruins of over 100 temples to see. They could be as attractive as the old Roman wall in Europe which still attracts a large number of visitors.

Dubbed as the northernmost province of Thailand, it also boasts a number of natural attractions perfect for winter tours. Certainly, as the Royal Ratchaphruek - the fauna and floral expo - is staging in the nearby province of Chaing Mai, a tour package combining attractions in these two provinces could have been concocted.

One hotel operator in the province said that when the horticulture festival first staged in Chiang Mai in 2011, some of the visitors took excursion trips to Chiang Rai. For this year? None, he said.

Indeed, it must be difficult to have a perfect plan drawn when so many were involved. In this case, there are the governor, the provincial administrative body, the municipality, TAT and some businessmen in the provincial chapter of Thai Chamber of Commerce.

As it is difficult to reach a compromise on a provincial matter, it's not surprising that at the national level, things could get messy. The most crucial example now is the water-management planning. Now, opinions from all sides are being spit out and it seems impossible that all opinions would be put into the plan, let alone for implementation. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, nicknamed by Government House reporters as "parrot" for her tireless talks, has so far revealed the plan objectives for at least three times, including to business leaders in Davos.

Matter-of-factly, 3G mobile phone service is available in a communist country like Laos, while the same development in Thailand starts on a rocky path.

Now, I'm kind of persuaded to believe that democracy is backfiring. If the rights to express opinions lead to no action, should we re-install the authoritarian system?