He’s still the poster-boy for marketing and public relations, but Mingkwan Saengsuwan’s reputation is not what it once was. In his line of work, past deeds will only get you so far; memories are short, and every year there is a new crop of MBA grads who couldn’t care less that Toyota Thailand rose to prominence during Mingkwan’s time there. (It probably didn’t hurt that Toyota was making good cars, they rightly point out.)

More recently, there was Mingkwan’s stint as president of the MCOT. This of course ended abruptly with his, and other Thaksin loyalists on the board, resignation. Before jumping ship, however, Mingkwan spearheaded the launch of the new-and-improved public TV station, Modernine—in less than three months after taking office.

But 100-plus days into his term as Commerce minister-slashdeputy PM, Mingkwan is still struggling to make his mark. Instead of policy successes, his greatest headline-making moment has been fainting during a presentation at the offices of Post Publishing.

Since joining the government, Mingwan has tabled three different but equally dubious paths to prosperity: fruits (“Dollars for durian”), Thai pop culture (“T-Pop and talok”) and rice (“The new oil”). Understandably, even former admirers have started to wonder: has Mingkwan lost his Midas touch? Or has the Fainting Man simply just “lost it”?

With his latest proposal, his critics have their answer. According to the Bangkok Post, Mingkwan recently ordered ministry officials to apply for a patent for Thailand’s legendary full moon parties. The idea came to him after he learned that similarly themed events were being held in, of all places, Singapore, where drug offences are taken much more seriously than here.

Not wanting those sneaky Singaporeans to profit, royalty-free, off one of our most cherished cultural institutions is one thing, but many observers wonder if it wouldn’t be a better idea to promote an event that isn’t infamous for hedonistic behavior, crime and crap music.

Money is money, though, and there are still a lot of fire trucks and scanners and bad loans to pay off. So if it will help the nation, and give a boost to Mingkwan’s bruised ego, we’re happy to do our part by signing up for a “Full Moon Party” t-shirt or two.