Thai Health Minister Anutin takes to TikTok

Warning!

TikTok Thailand says only 1% of its users are aged 45-55. Turns out one of them is Thailand’s mercurial Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul. Remember him? He disappeared from Twitter after his comments about “dirty farang” in the early days of the Covid-19 crisis, where he accused foreigners of being the cause of the outbreak in Thailand. His racist remarks have been credited with legitimising xenophobic sentiment among some Thais and he was sidelined from the Government’s Covid-19 task force pretty much immediately after, sent out to the outlying provinces instead for photo opportunities.

Well, he’s back, at least on TikTok. A report in Khaosod English says Minister Anutin has posted a couple of videos on the site under the handle @nituna1966 (his birth year and his name spelt backwards). In one clip, posted at the end of May, he can be seen lip-synching to audio from Thai toddler sensation @Phuriwat.M. “People watching aren’t giving me hearts. I’ll spank you,” mimes Anutin.

Here it is…

https://www.tiktok.com/@nituna1966/video/6831959044467510529

TikTok Thailand says the vast majority of its users are in the younger age brackets, with half aged 18-24 and a third aged 13-17. Anutin is 53 and is believed to be the first prominent Thai politician to join the network (the rest of the Thai cabinet has so far resisted the temptation to follow Anutin’s lead).

Anutin deleted his Twitter account in March after his inflammatory comments went viral and caused uproar, putting the PM and fellow ministers into damage control.

SOURCE: Khaosod English