korn_chatikavanij – Newley Purnell

A Facebook feud between Korn and Nattawud

Today’s Bangkok Post on a Facebook feud between Thailand’s Finance Minister, Korn Chatikavanij, and Nattawut Saikua, a red shirt leader:

It all started simply enough with a post on Facebook by the finance minister after taking his wife out to an innocent dinner at at unnamed restaurant on Thong Lor.

He was told that he had been seated at a table that had just been vacated by Nattawut, prompting a little swipe on his FB page remarking that he was amused how the person who called himself prai (peasant) actually had the same kind of lifestyle as the person he accused of being ammart (elite).

Within a matter of seconds, there was a response, and by Monday morning, he had received over 800 comments and almost 6,000 “likes”.

On Sunday morning, Nattawut posted on his own Facebook page how his dinner the previous night had become an online issue.

“Listen, Korn, because there are people like you that oppression still exists. Why do you have to define prai as being poor, stupid and accepting their downtrodden plight. What can’t prai eat at the same restaurant as the capitalists? Long live the people!”

(Emphasis mine.)

Thailand’s finance minister appears on soap opera (cross posted to Siam Voices)

Note: This is cross-posted to Siam Voices, the new group-run Thailand blog at Asian Correspondent.

Thailand’s finance minister, Korn Chatikavanij, appeared on a Thai soap opera Tuesday night to deliver a message about the government’s efforts to help citizens pay off debts to loan sharks.

AP has the story:

“Vanida” is a sappy drama set in World War II Thailand that revolves around a love triangle between a colonel, his aristocratic fiancee and the daughter of a merchant. Debt is central to the story line, in which the colonel’s money problems get him into all kinds of trouble.

Korn has cited the show on his Facebook page to explain illegal debt collection practices, and the Finance Ministry collaborated with the show’s producers for a three-minute short that followed the main show Tuesday night.

It begins with the three main characters talking about someone who owes money and the colonel says, “Nowadays the government is helping with debt.”

Cue Korn, who enters in gray trousers, a white shirt, striped tie and suspenders.

“The Abhisit Vejjajiva government has already helped about 500,000 people tackle illegal debts,” he says heroically, as the show’s two starlets smile and bat their eyes. “For those who have registered but have yet to receive help, you can call our hot line at 1689.”

Here’s the clip, embedded below. Korn appears at about the 1:35 mark:

Korn is no stranger to the media — and he is particularly adept at social media. His Facebook page has been “liked” by more than 130,000 people. And he has nearly 55,000 followers on Twitter.

Regarding the soap opera cameo, Bangkok Pundit, in a recent tweet, says simply: “Cheesy but effective.”

(Emphasis mine.)

(Via @thaitvnews)