PHUKET: Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew yesterday delivered his message for the New Year, wishing one and all happiness, prosperity and the coming year free from suffering and disease.
Although Phuket Governors usually deliver their message for the new year on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, Governor Narong broke tradition to deliver his message on Christmas Eve.
“New Year is coming, and I would like to take this opportunity to invite the people of Phuket together to pray for all the sacred things in their own religion to please take care and give blessings to honour His Majesty The King, Her Majesty the Queen and all members of the royal family, as His Majesty is the figurehead for all Thai people,” Governor Narong wrote in his formal New Year address.
“And this new year, may the sacred blessings of Luang Por Chaem of Chalong Temple and the spirits of Ya Mook and Ya Chan [the Phuket Heroines] help us and inspire Phuket people to experience happiness, prosperity, and be free from suffering and disease.
“May this New Year be a golden year for Phuket people after we have gone through a hard time during COVID-19. I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.”
Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong yesterday also offered his New Year blessings
“This year [2021] is the year of the Ox, following the Thai 12-year cycle of animals. It’s like the year of the cow that is difficult to eat, only eating grass. But we must be patient. It’s like we have been facing COVID-19 problems non-stop since last year. Many people have to stop their business or some people have to quit their jobs and go back to their homeland. Some people have to change careers. We have a hard time together. Let’s support each other, and the public sector has never left everyone, trying to support everyone to be able to overcome the crisis. It is considered that we have to take the lessons of last year to improve our work,” Vive Governor Pichet said.
“To live better than before, I recommend living with two spare baskets, the first one is the main job that everyone must have, a main income. It is a job that we have to do every day. The second one is the spare basket as an additional job that we must keep for a day when the main occupation slips out of hand. We will have a second basket to support us,” he added.
“We hope that next year will be considered the year of the golden tiger, following the Thai 12-year animal cycle. It will be a lucky year for everyone, and a year without COVID-19 or at least fewer infections. Vaccinations have reached more than 85% [first injection, of the target population] and there are measures for boosters every six months.
“The next step is to restore the economy and stimulate spending. In terms of public sector and private sector budgets, they have organised economic revival activities such as outstanding products which we sell to foreign tourists. Together they have also organised sport activities and hosted national and international competitions in order to promote more tourism to Phuket,” Vice Governor Pichet said.
“Next year, everyone should not let their guard down, and must continue to wear a mask, maintain social distancing and use alcohol-based hand sanitiser. Basically, we need to act with moderation in terms of spending.
“On the auspicious occasion of the New Year, I wish holy things to inspire everyone to be happy and prosperous. Live life with care and I wish you all success in your work and life throughout 2022. Thank you,” he said.
Source: The Phuket News