If you were anywhere on the internet recently, you would have come across the news on the grant Singapore gave Taylor Swift — the grant that made sure Singapore was the only Southeast Asian stop on the pop star’s Eras tour.
And if you came across that piece of news, you probably also know that our neighbours have made certain remarks about it, most prominently, the “criticisms” from Thailand’s Prime Minister (PM) Srettha Thavisin.
However, it turns out that the “criticisms” from the Thai PM weren’t meant to be criticisms at all. Here’s why.
Summary of the Thai PM’s Remarks on Singapore’s Use of “Swiftonomics”
Don’t know what we’re talking about? Fret not. Goody Feed is here to catch you up.
Ever wondered why Singapore is the only Southeast Asian stop on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour?
Well, you’re not the only one who wondered. The Thai PM did too, and he found out that Singapore had brokered an exclusive deal with Taylor Swift — in exchange for performing only in Singapore instead of other Southeast Asian countries, the singer would receive a grant of a few million dollars from Singapore.
The grant’s value, as alleged by the Thai PM at a business conference in Bangkok last month, is estimated to be US$2 million to US$3 million per show.
The Thai PM also went one step further to say that if he had known about the deal earlier, he was confident that Thailand could pull off something similar as well.
Well… You know what they say: You snooze, you lose.
Since then, we’ve seen a lawmaker in the Philippines remark that Singapore’s deal with Taylor Swift “isn’t what good neighbours do”, alongside heated debates on social media on whether Singapore’s deal with Taylor Swift was the right thing to do.
This issue demanded so much attention that someone felt the need to mobilise Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong to speak about the issue; to which, he shared that he did not see such a deal as being “unfriendly” to neighbouring countries.
And as it turns out, the Thai PM apparently agrees with PM Lee.
Thai Government Says PM’s Remarks Are Not Criticisms; They Were Compliments
While many have construed the Thai PM’s remarks as a “criticism” of Singapore’s actions, the Thai government has since clarified that that’s not the case. It was the complete opposite.
The Thai PM’s remarks were meant to be compliments.
On Tuesday (5 March), a spokesperson for Thailand’s Prime Minister’s Office, Chai Watcharong, said that the Thai PM had made the remarks to “admire and compliment Singapore”.
Chai added: “Singapore’s proposal was an approach that shows they dared to think and dared to do it, and that successfully made Taylor Swift’s team agree to have the exclusive performance in Singapore, the only country in the region. That has benefited the country.”
At the rate Chai is going, he just might land himself a PR position in one of Singapore’s ministries.
In any case, Chai acknowledged that the deal struck by Singapore with Taylor Swift was “normal business practice” and that there’s “no reason why Singapore should be ashamed of its actions”.
He further clarified that the Thai PM’s remarks were meant to encourage countries with an interest in promoting tourism to study Singapore’s strategy.
Truly, lifelong learning — even leaders of nations can’t get a break from studying.
In other news, what a nice ending. Perhaps the Singapore PM and Thai PM should exchange friendship bracelets now.
Thai Government Urges Public to Stop Jeopardising Thai PM’s Work
Before Chai wrapped up his clarifications on the Thai PM’s remarks, he had one more thing to say. He wanted to urge the public to stop “trying to jeopardise PM Srettha’s work”.
Presumably, because everyone on the internet has been peddling the idea that the Thai PM’s remarks were “criticisms” of Singapore, or meant to express Thailand’s jealousy of Singapore.
“I feel sad that there are people who are trying to jeopardise PM Srettha’s work. Please stop. There’s no reason for us to try to devalue our country’s leader. And these actions could possibly cause unnecessary dissatisfaction of the people between the two countries,” Chai added.
If you’d like to find out more about the grant Singapore gave to Taylor Swift, you can watch this video here:
Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:
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