For the Srettha Thavisin’s government, which vows to promote Thai goods and Thai soft power abroad, the past week was a major setback, if not a disaster.
The news and debate as to whether the government’s 150,000 sacks of 10-year-old rice is still good, or even edible, took a very wrong turn this week. On Friday, after the government failed to convince some skeptics that it is edible, or should be eaten at all, Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai tried to assay concerns of the Thai public by declaring it will be exported to Africa.
Days earlier saw both PM Srettha and Phumtham eating the 10-year-old rice in a PR stunt for the media to see in a bid to reassure the public that it is safe, edible, and even tasty. Some reporters were even invited to join this PR stunt by sampling the rice. The thing is, all these took place while we are still waiting for the results from the Department of Science Service to verify if the rice is still safe for human consumption and nutritious.
In a sane world, things should have started in the food science lab long before Srettha, Phumtham, or some journalists partake in the PR stunts in a bid to reassure the public that the rice is still safe. Once a food science clearance is obtained, then feel free to go on stage. The government approached it the other way around, however.
Without a scientific certification that these very vintage rice is safe, the PM, the Deputy PM (and even Defence Minister Suthin Klangsaeng, also a senior figure from the ruling Pheu Thai Party, who fed his soldiers with the same rice in a separate stunt) instead thought they could just convince the public through stunts – which backfired.
How wrong they were. Towards the end of this week, the Pheu Thai Party was literally pleading for an end to this very public dramatization of the rice which was originally brought in as part of the then-Pheu Thai administration under PM Yingluck Shinawatra’s controversial rice price mortgage program just before the 2014 coup.
The fiasco shows us that Thailand continues to be deeply divided politically, with those against the Pheu Thai party, which is unofficially presided over by former PM Thaksin Shinwatra, who is now on parole, having very low or no trust in the government. At this stage, the government might want to launch an effective damage control scheme by inviting “independent” food science experts, say from Kasetsart University, to test and determine whether the rice is still suitable for human consumption as well, for what is at stake is the reputation of Thai rice abroad.
Since Phumtham said all the old rice will be exported, via auction, to Africa, it is imperative that the Thai government leaves no doubt that the rice is still truly edible and nutritious. If not, they should turn it into animal feed, or biofuel if possible. In the worst-case scenario, publicly destroy them in an environmentally friendly way.
The reputation of Thai rice is much more precious than what the government might earn from selling this lot of rice. This despite the fact that Mr. Supachai Varopinyaporn, chairman of Tanasan Rice Company Limited, a major rice export firm, was quoted by the local media earlier this week as saying African consumers prefer old rice and it would not affect the confidence in Thai rice abroad. My question is how old is too old? Three, five or 10 years?
Yesterday, May 10, PM Srettha must have belatedly realized the gravity of the situation and told the media he will wait for the scientific results of the tests and would not be selling it if it is dangerous. This should have been how it started, not the disastrous rice-eating PR stunts.
Another question left unaddressed by the government is how on earth did the then dictatorial (and later semi-dictatorial) government of Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha has failed to sell this lot of rice for the nine years when he was in power since the May 2014 military coup. Who should be held responsible? Given that the current government has no appetite for a conflict with the army, which is a state within a state, they would rather just keep quiet and eat the old rice.
