Few expected a charity run by Artiwara Kongmalai, also known as "Toon" of the rock band Bodyslam, would improve Thailand's overburdened public health system. In all likelihood, he wouldn't even scratch the surface of the problem if he ran all the way to Pluto.
Anyone who has visited a public hospital in Thailand would probably agree with this.
Overcrowded hospitals alone would be enough to deter the faint of heart. It's common for patients to queue for three hours just to enjoy a three-minute session with a physician. There are also tales of people who have perished while awaiting treatment or surgery. Meanwhile, complaints from overworked and underappreciated doctors are legion.
Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist, Bangkok Post.
So who should shoulder the blame? A do-gooder rock star who wants to raise funds to benefit public hospitals with no regard for their administrative context, or the government that is responsible for the entire public healthcare system?
Artiwara may feel perplexed that his latest project to run a charity super-marathon from the southernmost district of Betong in Yala province to the northernmost tip of Mae Sai in Chiang Rai has provoked a barrage of controversy.
The famous singer enjoyed immense success and public admiration when he launched a 400km charity marathon from Bangkok to Prachuap Khiri Khan in just 10 days to raise funds for the local Bang Saphan Hospital last year.
He ended up with more than 85 million baht in public donations, which exceeded most people's expectations. The goodwill towards his campaign has been huge.
This year, the rocker is aiming higher with another super-marathon covering 2,191km in 55 days. The event, planned to start on Nov 1 and wrap up on Christmas Day, aims to raise donations for 11 public hospitals which serve as medical centres in each region.
As this run is longer and more strenuous, the singer is asking for more money -- a 10-baht donation each from 70 million Thai people, or 700 million baht in total.
Is the goal ambitious? Probably. But considering the feat, the personal sacrifice the rock star is willing to make for the cause and the goodwill he has reaped from his past fame and deeds, it's by no means overarching.
Why then has his campaign run into a storm of criticism?
Some people say his project masks the government's failure to provide quality public healthcare. Toon is not only putting himself up as a private "hero" but also promoting a band-aid solution to a problem that must be tackled structurally.
Others argue he is naive. It's not a lack of funding that is the problem, these sceptics said. It's the government's decisions, the way it allocates the national budget and its spending priorities that are the problem.
The military regime's annual defence budget of 222 billion baht, up by 4.1% from last year, is at the centre of the derision. It compares to a budget of 187 billion baht for public health.
A few people have questioned whether Artiwara truly understands the problems besetting the public health sector in his decision to raise money for big hospitals that serve as medical centres in different regions instead of small, community-based ones. Why is the rocker trying to give help where it is not needed the most?
Again, questions are floating around as to whether Artiwara sincerely wants to help public hospitals and people who have no choice but to rely on these far-from-ideal services, or if is he seeking an exalted status of his own, whether he is aware of it or not.
Artiwara's attempt to keep his campaign apolitical by insisting he doesn't care what caused the failure in the public health system would appear to support those comments about his seeming naivete. He said he hopes the charity run reminds people that a kind and positive spirit still exists among them.
The debate grew fierce when they were put in a divisive political context. It's no secret that the universal healthcare coverage was an initiative of the "previous regime" and something the current one is not particularly fond of.
For the politically minded, Toon Bodyslam's charity marathon is nothing but a misguided attempt to preserve the structure of inequality and the government's allegedly unfair treatment of certain segments of the population while maintaining the privileges of the elite.
Worse still, the charity approach provides an excuse, an emotional base, for the unfair structure to continue.
After all, there has long been talk that the country's three major healthcare schemes -- one for government officials, the social security fund, and universal coverage -- should be merged and standardised as they carry unequal benefits for no particular reason.
That structural change has not happened after all these years despite a general agreement among agencies concerned.
While I believe Toon initiated the charity marathon out of a genuine sense of goodwill, and that he deserves to be supported, whether financially or emotionally, the rocker and his followers should open up to criticism and take it into account.
Charity is not a bad thing. Under the current circumstances of the ailing public health system, any help should be welcome.
Artiwara's charity marathon, whether it is considered naive or misguided, will not be a waste of time as somebody, somewhere will surely benefit from the improved services or medical equipment the donations will buy.
Still, the rocker's critics are correct in pointing out the system is too sick to rely on an individual's sense of charity while the government sits back and sings his praises for such a private endeavour.
Access to quality healthcare is a right for all. The public should not have to rely on anybody's "charity" to receive the kind of services they are entitled to.
As debate grows about whether Artiwara's marathon will tackle the public healthcare problem at its root, no one is taking the blame. Will the government ever own up and start fixing it?
It's going to be a long wait.
