Phuketians join for national anthem tonight
PHUKET CITY: Thousands of flag-waving Phuketians will gather at Phromthep Cape this evening to sing the Thai National Anthem together as part of a nationwide national unity campaign.
Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop will lead the ceremony, which will be broadcast live on national television.
A flotilla of yachts will be anchored off the cape and will sound their horns in a unified salute to end the anthem.
Tourists and local expatriate residents are also invited to take part in the event designed to build national unity as part of the government’s Thai Khem Kheng (strong Thailand) scheme proposed by the Finance Ministry.
Under the scheme, each of Thailand’s 76 provinces features in a televised singing of the anthem as part of the national ‘time check’ that takes place at 6pm daily across all Thai television and radio frequencies.
A different province is featured each day in alphabetical order. The letter paw sampow (P for Phuket) is the 32nd letter in the Thai alphabet, which contains a total of 44 consonants and 21 vowels.
Phromthep Cape was deemed the most appropriate place for the Phuket round of the anthem singing because it is the province’s most famous scenic vista and will look beautiful as the sun sets, Gov Wichai said earlier this month.
For more information about the campaign click here.
The event will be televised on the NBT network, Thai TV Channel 11, starting at 5.50pm.
A park-and-ride shuttle service will be set up at Nai Harn Lake.
— Pimwara Choksakulpan
