Long twilight
of the Bangkok Governor
- June 7, 2004
Several times in the past, 2Bangkok.com has mentioned
the "Twilight of the Bangkok governor"--how
Governor Samak announced a year ago he would not
do anything in the last year in office.
There were warnings about him before he was elected--warnings
that Samak was part of the old-guard of political
life that considered themselves rulers of the people
and that he was involved in the 1976 massares of
student protesters.
Samak did start off with promises and proposals,
continuing the former governor's Bhichit Rattakul's
more active participation in city development and
planning. However, the city government has no control
of its funding--even collected taxes are held by
the central government and doled out to the city
at its whim. The Bangkok Governor has no choice
but to march to the orders of party in power at
the national level.
It is believed that this lack of atonomy caused
Samak to withdrawl and become cynical. Others speculated
a deal was cut with the Thai Rak Thai party for
Samak to go slow and help pave the way for TRT's
candidate (who by contrast would be responsive to
the public, young, and perhaps a political novice
in contrast to the old political guard Samak represents).
Thaksin had also commented that Bangkok needs a
governor would follow the line of the central government.
But as it ends up, TRT did not field a candidate
(at least not officially). Samak is not blaming
anyone for his inactivity. Maybe he is too much
of a political insider to throw stones. Maybe he
has agreed not to speak up for some reasion. Whatever
the back story, Samak is left with a legacy of sour
defensiveness and practically nothing accomplished
as governor.
Please
leave Governor Samak alone - The Nation,
June 4, 2004
...As Samak's tenure comes to a close next month,
people who voted for Samak are realising they have
been had.
Instead of serving Bangkok diligently, as he pledged
to, Samak has made hapless Bangkok residents work
for him, particularly over the past two years when
he has suddenly taken it easy on himself: no new
policy initiatives, no new projects, and no one
gets to see Samak in the news, except when he scolded
critics who accused him, many would say rightly,
of being inattentive and even lazy.
Samak has become famous for his sarcastic rebuttals.
When motorists complained about flooded streets
that resulted in the mother of all traffic jams,
Samak retorted: "A governor's job does not
involve wading into flood water, pushing stalled
vehicles for the camera"...
Many City Hall observers believe Samak has burned
himself out because too many of his projects have
been scuttled by the Thaksin administration, which
cash-strapped City Hall must rely on as its main
source of funding...
Earlier: Twilight
of the Bangkok Governor
- The Nation, July 26, 2003
Thursday was the third anniversary of Samak's
governorship. He distributed 20,000 copies of a
70-page report on his third-year performance, citing
various obstacles that had prevented him from solving
several chronic problems.
"It's not necessary to boast about my achievements,
as it is my responsibility," Samak said on
Thursday. The governor said he did not want to put
further effort into solving the problems.
"I don't have to do anything next year,"
he said. "People are going to criticise me
anyway. And I don't have anything to worry about,
even my popularity. I don't see any reason to run
for re-election."
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