OCT 5 — No tanks, no bloodshed, so there’s no news, the Director-General of Information from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Sek Wannamethee told the audience, as conveyed by a CNN correspondent when the coup d’etat was announced on May 22, 2014. Sek was responding to a question on the immediate reactions of the international media when Thailand’s army commander General Prayut Chan-o-cha took over the reigns from an elected government.

Sek (right) and Werachon addressed the 23-member delegation from Asean countries.

The audience was a 23-member delegation from nine nations to the Asean Media and PR Officers’ visit to Thailand from Sept 27 to Oct 1, organised by the MFA. I was one of the two Malaysian invitees.

Art of public relations showcased

The Sept 30 morning session was — Meeting with the spokespersons from Royal Thai Government. The panel was top brass, comprising the deputy government spokesman from the secretariat of Prime Minister Major General Werachon Sukondhapatipak, who was to be promoted Lieutenant General the next day. Others were Executive Director, Advertising and Public Relations Department, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), who was also to be promoted the next day, as Deputy Governor of TAT, Inspector General of the Ministry of Commerce and its Deputy Director-General of the department of foreign trade, Director of marketing and corporate image from the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Office of the Prime Minister. The session chair was the engaging Sek.

TAT reported that they expect even higher tourist arrivals than the record 29.88 million registered in 2015 for this year. It must be noted though that the industry already took a dip from the political unrest through 2013 and the massive street protests in 2014 before the coup took place.

The tourism industry is worth some US$35 billion (RM143.5 million) annually and habitually accounts for 10 per cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product.

The TCEB briefing was titled Asean Cooperation on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions). She provided a clear outlook on the massive potential of working together – if Asean were a single country it would be the seventh largest economy in the world and is projected to be the fourth largest economy by 2050. I think her presentation created quite an impact on most of the delegation. A Myanmar delegate confided that he never heard of MICE before. Well, that’s what a closed economy does.

The deputy director-general of the department of foreign trade was in his element expounding the YEN-D (Young Entrepreneur Network Development) programme. It is dedicated to business people less than 45 years old, with setups having an annualised revenue of a minimum US$350,000 (RM1.44 million) and, with a capacity to expand to CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) markets.

What we were witnessing was the country’s public relations blitzkrieg! Foreign investments, tourism arrivals and even MICE bookings are all on track. The stress on Asean solidarity was resounding and the particularly clever plan of promoting CLMV plus T (Thailand) topped it.

Foreign Minister cum State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi’s first official itinerary was to Thailand. This is politically impactful, as she had spent more than a quarter century fighting the military regime in her country, 15 years of which were spent under house arrest.

This can’t be just another military coup

The May 2014 incident is the 12th since 1932 when the country replaced its absolute monarchy to a constitutional one. Through various sources, I gathered most Bangkokians at least, preferred the military to end the protracted political impasse. The virtual gridlock in Bangkok, the first three months of 2014, did cause paralysis ranging from personal mobility to the economy.

A 10-seater coach driver I spoke to said their business was still affected from as far back as 2013 when the yellow and red shirts started their confrontation. Theirs should relate to the MICE sector.

Only Thai folks embedded in the political goings-on/military/bureaucracy can begin to comprehend the surface and behind the scenes political backdrop i.e. increasing palace intrigue (the king’s recovery and relapse health conditions), the parallel military: civil societies, and the regional/rural landscape vis-à-vis Bangkok.

Obviously the western powers have noted that Thailand is not one to fit into their model of democracy. The United States merely cancelled military aid of up to US$10 million (RM41 million) and its back to business as usual. The travel advisory of the US, EU, ANZ and other critical economies lasted two months. Seems to me the crux wasn’t about a non-elected head of government, but simply whether the country is actually safe to visit.

According to Sek, Thailand’s schedule to all regional and international conferences have not been disrupted. There will be the cursory inquiry on the date of the planned parliamentary elections.

The way Prayut has handled the situation suggests strongly to me that his reform of their political theatre includes the non-necessity of future military coup. As of now he has assured and promised in no uncertain terms that parliamentary elections will be held in the later part of 2017.

I noted that one of the first measures Prayut took was to engage the bureaucracy, to ensure that the government mechanism is uninterrupted, which spared the citizenry. He is no ordinary soldier.

Postscript

Nutta Vasantasingh, posted as the second secretary three months ago to Kuala Lumpur was our liaison officer for the trip. She was very focused on her assignment and was a great help.

There was a police outrider escorting our convoy to the meet venues, so we were not affected by the famous Bangkok jams. On the final evening we were checked in to Dusit Thani Hotel in Hua Hin (a beach resort). The Cicada night market is a "must visit”. The attractively arranged stalls selling local handicrafts is a sight to behold. Smoking is not permitted within the compound even though open air.

Next week – Hero or just another coup leader?

* Datuk Lee Yew Meng is the CEO of Genovasi Malaysia.