December 8, 2004
Joy turns to tears after PM's signature forged
WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM
Jubilation turned to disappointment for a Narathiwat girl on being told
the paper crane she had picked up and thought had been signed by Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra bore a forged signature.
Nureeta Malaimal, a 12-year-old Pathom Suksa 6 student of Ban Yaba school
in Rueso district, said she picked up the crane in an open field. What
looked to be Mr Thaksin's signature was scribbled on one wing and a
telephone number with the message ``Call back at once'' written on the
other. The girl was overjoyed and could not believe her luck.
Miss Nureeta, wearing an Islamic headscarf, said she joined her friends to
scour for cranes, almost 100 million of which were air-dropped over
Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat on Sunday to promote peace in the
violence-plagued south.
Miss Nureeta rushed to see the Rueso district chief before both met with
provincial governor Pracha Techarat. At first, the district chief
confirmed the signature on the bird to be genuine, said Pol Pvt Suriya
Malaimal, the girl's father.
Miss Nureeta said the crane would have helped her realise her childhood
dream of studying medicine. The prime minister had promised the finder of
the bird with his signature a scholarship or a job.
But her hope and joy evaporated after learning the signature was fake and
the phone number on the bird belonged to a construction worker identified
only as Sompong in the Lat Phrao area of Bangkok.
The paper crane the girl picked up was compared to the picture of the one
the prime minister had folded. His had his signature on both wings.
Upon being contacted by reporters, Mr Sompong said he was confused after
receiving a call from the Malaimal family in the morning. He told them
they had the wrong number and that it was a prank. He said he had not
folded a single crane.
Mr Sompong said he was not bothered by the incident but felt sorry for the
girl who must be very disappointed.
Miss Nureeta said she still wanted to be a doctor and hoped the prime
minister would grant her the scholarship anyway.
Pol Pvt Suriya said if his daughter was denied the scholarship, the family
would send her to university. He said Mr Thaksin had said he would meet
and lunch with holders of even birds with fake signatures.
Meanwhile, the government has suddenly become non-committal about its
promise to provide a scholarship or a job to the finder of the real bird.
Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said the finder would be treated to
lunch with the prime minister. ``But nothing is a promise at this point,''
he said.
Mr Jakrapob explained the government was taking precautions against
criticism that the paper crane campaign was driven by the temptation to
win prizes.
He said the government had its regular outlets and resources to assist
people in securing jobs and obtaining scholarships while the paper crane
exercise was to promote peace. The two should not be mixed up, he said.
``This is not a paper bird project for scholarships,'' Mr Jakrapob said.
The cabinet was only discussing the idea of offering a job or scholarship
to the finder of the real bird but it was never announced as a resolution,
he said.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Wan Muhamad Nor Matha, a Muslim, voiced
disagreement at the cabinet meeting yesterday about the proposal to use
the birds as material to build a peace monument.
He insisted Islam had no problem with depicting birds as messengers of
peace as long as they did not become an object of worship, which was
contrary to Islamic teachings against idolatry.