A cheery photo-up and a new Guinness World record — what could possibly go wrong?
“Plenty” is the answer coming from more than a few Thai netizens, angry after checking out viral photos of the leftovers from the record-breaking mango and sticky rice banquet.
When Facebook news page CSI LA shared a series of pictures showing the aftermath of the feast — which broke the world record for largest-ever serving of the dish — numerous netizens flocked to criticize what they called a major waste of both food and money.
“Money [used for this event] that came from citizen’s taxes has been used wastefully. What a pity,” the Facebook page wrote in the caption.
Barely four hours after going up, the post has already received 1,400 comments and nearly 5,000 shares by mostly frustrated netizens.
“Meanwhile the rest of Thailand deals with poverty,” wrote one netizen.
“Why didn’t you use your mother’s and father’s money to throw this event? How dare you use the taxpayer’s money. Do you even ask your citizens for our opinions — you know, the people who actually pay the taxes?” wrote another.
In response, Puttipong Punnakan, deputy secretary-general of the Prime Minister’s Office and government spokesperson, said citizens should focus on the government’s “good intentions.”
“The event was thrown to strengthen relations with Chinese tourists… because everyday their number increases, which brings a lot of income into Thailand,” he said.
The “We Care About You” event was hosted by the National Legislative Assembly and the Association of Thai Travel Agents yesterday afternoon.
More than 10,000 Chinese tourists were invited to feast on about 1,360 kilograms of sticky rice along with 6,000 mangos — which totaled a weight of about 4,500 kilograms.
A representative of the Association of Thai Travel Agents reached by Coconuts Bangkok this afternoon said they had no information regarding the cost of the event.
Calls to the National Legislative Assembly went unanswered.
The stunt is one of a number recent initiatives aimed at drawing back Chinese tourist dollars that disappeared amid a series of high-profile negative incidents, among them, the sinking of the tourist vessel Phoenix in July.
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