In the face of criticism concerning the alleged overspending on a yacht for an academic trip to Phuket, the Sakon Nakhon Municipal Organization (SNMO) has come ahead to defend its actions.
The group maintains that transparency and the project’s worth are at the forefront of its efforts. The controversy spiralled from a Facebook page, ‘ปฏิบัติการหมาเฝ้าบ้าน,’ which highlighted the price – over 1.7 million baht (US$47,837) of the educational trip.
Chuphong Kamjuang, head of SNMO, right now clarified and justified the expenditure. He stated that the trip was for a legitimate research purpose concerning tourism and Smart City. The challenge was introduced by Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, involving 60 employees members from the organisation.
Chuphong continued by saying that the criticism on social media about registration charges of 28,000 baht (US$788) per person was majorly for journey bills. The SNMO is located far from the province, thus it grew to become necessary to travel by aircraft from Sakon Nakhon to Don Mueang International Airport, after which to Nakhon Si Thammarat, before continuing their journey by bus, reported KhaoSod.
Addressing the criticism of using a yacht for the educational go to, Chuphong clarified that it was an ordinary journey to a tourist spot, customary for Phuket. The journey required a passenger yacht, not a luxurious yacht completely used by the wealthy, costing a modest 9,000 baht (US$253) per day.
As for the issue of purchasing for durian and praying at the temple, Chuphong mentioned that the durian was organized by the Phang Nga Municipality for tasting and selling their native produce, and there was no precise purchase made. As for visiting Censored , it’s a standard apply every time one visits a province to pay homage to sacred objects. This was done outdoors the itinerary.
Chuphong concluded by speculating that the images spread on social media might be a political controversy throughout the SNMO as some members did not attend the journey. He extended his gratitude for inadvertently making SNMO well-known..