Thaksin the father fails to impress

It took me by surprise when I saw Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra make his humble, almost tearful plea to the media, urging them to stop dragging his youngest daughter Paetongtarn into the national entrance-exam leak scandal. No, it wasn't the apparently "straightforward" and "sincere" manner of a heartbroken father that struck me. It was the timing of his official response to the explosive issue. The loving father's rise to his child's defence came far too late, not to mention how little it did to heal her deep wounds.

A wise man like Thaksin should have known that the damage had been done and asking people to stop talking about it could well have the reverse effect. Although he singled out the media, he must have been informed that gossip and contempt had gone far beyond what was written in news reports.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of students, have expressed their anger and frustration on websites. Should he check relevant webboards, Thaksin would learn that his daughter had been a target of social punishment long before her father came out to respond to the public.

Thaksin was probably busy familiarising himself with the lives of people in the Northeast, so busy he hardly found time to properly protect his beloved daughter. He won some sympathy, yes, but whether he has done enough as a father, considering the magnitude of rumours and allegations, I have my doubts.

He told the public how his heart was broken to see his daughter weeping when he peeked into her bedroom and how his daughter studied so hard to improve her grades. Some people were moved, but others remained unconvinced. There are parents who have seen their children work equally hard or even harder. There are other mums and dads who have seen their children's tears. The difference is they can't go on television and seek nationwide sympathy.

In the case of Thaksin, some view him as a father struggling to protect his daughter while others took it as another great "act" of our leader. I'm in the latter group. And if anyone asks, I can explain it. As a mother, I'd probably launch into a similar speech, but my protective instincts wouldn't take me on a tour of the Northeast, posing in my Fendi towel, before I opened my mouth to defend my child.

My evaluation: Thaksin did fairly poorly in this see-if-you-are-a-good-father test.

And what about his chief-executive responsibilities? He flunked. Again, the timing was very late and out of proportion. To show the public that he was serious about the investigation, he could have done a lot more. He left the entrance-exam leak controversy develop from a tiny wound into a large, festering sore. This is unlike the decisive man who launched the war on drugs that led to over than 1,000 deaths.

In this entrance-exam episode, Thaksin would have won the public's praise if he had chosen to react soon enough both as a father and as "CEO" of Thailand.

As the leader of the government, he should have at least put more pressure on two men, Education Minister Adisai Bodharamik and former secretary-general of the Higher Education Commission Voradej Chandarasorn. A credible and swift investigation would have overshadowed the rumours and hearsay, thus limiting the damage to innocent people, including those he loves.

Sad to say, he failed to exercise either of the roles when the public needed him to do so.

I ask myself whether, if I were in his shoes, I would do a better job. I'm not sure in the capacity of PM or CEO. But as a mother, I am positive that my instincts would drive in the right direction to defend my child. More importantly, I wouldn't let a political road show become a bigger priority than my daughter, but having said that, I know why I could never be prime minister and why some politicians can't be good fathers.

Published on May 8, 2004