The governor of rural Khon Kaen province and his crew had to do an apologetic wai to the public at Sunday’s press conference after an internal letter, which described locals as “stupid,” circulated online over the weekend.The letter, dated March 9, invited related agencies in the province to attend a meeting to discuss an educational initiative called, “How to stop citizens from being stupid.”
The letter was signed by Khon Kaen Deputy Governor Suchai Butsara who, on Sunday, defended the administration, saying they had no intention of offending local Khon Kaen people.
In an attempt to calm the infuriated citizens down, the administration showed a letter dated March 12, in which the mission was reworded to say, “How to acknowledge citizens of the changing world.” Suchai told reporters, “As a person who signed that letter and did not think too much into it, I apologize for making you folks feel uncomfortable. The letter had been canceled even before it was leaked! I’m not sure what sort of intention the person who leaked it had.” You see? He didn’t “think too much into it.” Facebook users reacted angrily to the letter, with many questioning, “Who’s the stupid one here?” Khon Kaen Governor Somsak Jantrakul also led the crew to do an apologetic wai to the press on Sunday. Apparently, they also called the clerk who typed up the letter to the press conference. “I don’t have the intention to offend citizens. I wanted to be fast and may not have revised the letter.” She added the memo was supposed to be internal, and she didn’t expect it to come out. NTN
