Hearththrob Tono’s ambitious bid to swim across Mekong for public good is not quite winning hearts

Tono Phakhin wants to do good for society by swimming across the Mekong River, following in the footsteps of Toon Bodyslam who once embarked on a much-lauded charity run, but finds himself caught in the crosshairs.

When Toon Bodyslam ran 2,215 kilometres in 2017 to raise funds for hospitals, he won overwhelming public praise and support. This year, Tono Phakin planned an alternative version of fundraising by swimming across the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom province, but his plan has apparently drawn more criticism than praise.

On Saturday, Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak, a heartthrob actor, will swim 15 kilometres from Nakhon Phanom province in Thailand to Khammouane province in Laos and back to raise funds for a Thai and a Lao public hospital.

Tono announced his plan to raise funds for the Nakhon Phanom Hospital and a Lao hospital in Thakhek, Khammouane province, in early September when he made a trip to the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom to start making preparations.

As per his plan, he would swim along the Thai side of the Mekong River from Phaya Sri Sattana ground for about five kilometres, to the cheers of his fans, before he would swim five km across the river to reach the Lao side at Wat Phathat Si Khottabon in Thakhek. He may rest briefly and swim back for another five km.

If Tono was aiming to emulate the celebrated 2,215-km run from Betong in Yala province to Mae Sai in Chiang Rai by Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai, lead singer of the rock band Bodyslam, he was in for a shock. His plan has drawn severe criticism, especially from Thai netizens.

In 2017, Toon ran for 55 days — from November 1 to December 25 — and raised 1.3 billion baht, which he shared with several public hospitals. His charity run did not make a fuss at all, apparently because he organised it on his own without bothering state agencies. State agencies only lent minimal help by controlling traffic for his run on some busy roads.

But Tono’s plan has drawn flak apparently because of several factors, including concerns for his own safety.

When he announced his plan in early September, the country was being hit by a series of storms and heavy rains and the Mekong River was bloated.

Many of his fans voiced fears that he might be washed away by the strong currents of the bloated Mekong and that officials involved in the organising of the event might be blamed and held responsible.

Some observers suspect that the criticisms stemmed from Thai movie fans’ grudge against him because of a personal issue. Tono was once a boyfriend of Pataratida “Tangmo” Pacharawirapong, who tragically drowned in the Chao Phraya River.

When Tangmo was still missing in the Chao Phraya, many of her fans demanded that Tono say something, but he remained silent although he came to the scene to help search for her body.

There is a Thai saying: “Once disliked, always disliked, and dislike can grow to hatred.”

It is speculated that the strong criticism of Tono’s plan has been precipitated by the personal issue as well.

Tono’s swimming plan repeatedly drew a flood of criticism on social networks.

Recently, a Thai Twitter user leaked a copy of a document from a meeting of local government agencies in Nakhon Phanom held for making preparations to facilitate the charity swim.

The Twitter user noted the document showed that Tono’s team had sought support from local agencies for up to 33 items on the long list.

“OMG, one man swims but he sought so much support. He asked more than what should be prepared for a prime minister’s reception event,” the Twitter post said.

“He said he would not be anyone’s burden but this is heavier than a burden. You’ll go swimming, not for war, won’t you? Who will pay for these expenses?”

According to the leaked document, Tono’s team asked local agencies to prepare a carpeted ground for the abbot of Wat Phra That Phanom to pray before the start of the swim and to organise a dance show of 200 dancers.

The team also asked for dozens of rooms as free accommodation and over a 100 free lunch boxes.

The manager of the event organiser, Kritsanah Boonyapattaro, came out to defend Tono and the team. He said the local agencies had offered to help Tono because he would bring reputation to the province. Kritsanah noted that Tono shouldered more expenses than what were stated in the document.

When criticism of Tono was at its peak, a Thai fan commented on Tono’s Instagram page that a former Laotian ambassador to Thailand had asked her to notify the Thai actor it would be illegal if he swims to Laos without seeking permission for entry.

But Tono replied to the comment that he has sought permission and the Laotian officials supported the swim and had made preparations on the Lao side for him.

In the latest drama, a Facebook user criticised Tono and an unnamed university for allowing the actor to use the advanced water tunnel facility at the university for testing his physical readiness and his lung capability for the charity swim.

The Facebook user said he used to study at a faculty of the university and lecturers there told him that the tunnel was rarely used because of the high expenditure it entailed for each use. The Facebook user wondered why Tono was allowed to use it free of charge.

While the public expressed concern that it would not be safe for Tono to swim across the bloated Mekong, Amarin TV interviewed three experienced local swimmers who expressed confidence it would be safe for Tono to do so.

The three, Prasit Pathadee, 44, Thanatnon Nonthawong, 36, and Suthep Phanthaset 64, said it would not be dangerous to swim across the Mekong if a swimmer knew the right tricks. They offered to swim along with Tono if invited. A trick offered by them was to let the body float along with the tide.

Despite the barrage of criticism, Tono is standing firm on his mission.

He said on his Instagram page that he had gone through his final training on Tuesday and was now ready for the charity swim. He said donations have so far risen to over 5 million baht.

On Wednesday, Tono and his team travelled to Nakhon Phanom to make final preparations for his “One Man & The River – One Man Swims, Many Donate” charity swim that will take place on Saturday.