LET IT BE
SURANAND VEJJAJIVA
Barring any other respectable candidate such as Purachai Piumsombun showing up to register for the race today, one has to admit that this coming contest for Bangkok Governor on Oct 5 looks rather dull.
That is not only because of the seeming lack of competition among the candidates but also on the issues they will be debating.
The incumbent, Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, who is also deputy leader of the Democrat party, is a clear front-runner from the start. The latest polls give him more than 40% approval while others hover around 10% or even in the single digits.
Mr Apirak is good looking, soft spoken, and possesses a natural instinct for public relations. He presented his work well while appearing sincere and hard-working enough to make him the darling of most Bangkokians. Mr Apirak has coasted through his first term as governor.
Others of interest include writer and church preacher Kriengsak Chareonwongsak who looks too academic, and massage parlour owner-turned-politician Chuwit Kamolvisit, who looks too rough.
M L Nattakorn Devakula, the young news anchorman and talk show host, a rising star in his own right, decided to drop out of the race. It is quite a shame because he would have been the one expected to present fresh new ideas.
The People's Power party (PPP) finally settled for Prapas Chongsa-nguan, former governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). Mr Prapas is dynamic, knows all about traffic problems, has experience in running a large organisation, and is outspoken.
His dilemma will be how to maintain the PPP's grassroots base and political canvassers while creating a perception of independence. This is due to the present political conflict at the national level which has damaged the PPP's image, especially among the urban middle class, who have been the determining factor in past Bangkok elections. How Mr Prapas maintains the balance will be interesting.
Whether the campaign debate will be based on substance or not, is another matter.
Bangkok is a charm for those who visit the city for a few days, but a trauma for those living here everyday. Its vibrant commerce and diverse cultural heritage have been the main pillars of prosperity for the city.
But Bangkok, at 226 years of age, is disorganised. It grew from a small river town to a modern metropolis without any proper planning. How much longer it can sustain this uncontrolled growth is a serious concern.
Bangkok needs effective enforcement of urban zoning and development. Residential areas must not mix with commercial purposes. Red light districts, including bars and pubs, must be separated from schools and children.
At present everything merges into each other, a mixture which is the root of urban chaos.
Here is a city of 6-plus million people (12 million unofficially) that has a limited mass transit backbone and a confusing support network of buses, vans and motorcycles as feed lines. The number of vehicles outstrips road and street surface. Opportunity costs for urban dwellers are lost in the daily traffic jams.
The advertisement signs from the large billboards to Gov Apirak's "intelligent" signage system are an eyesore. There are even trucks holding up television screens airing commercials. Bangkokians would like to live in a community rather than in a shopping mall.
To create a green city is to design a living urban ecosystem with plants and trees. Placing plants in plastic pots along footpaths is more for decorative purposes. Trees must be allowed to grow, with electric and telephone lines buried underground. Building codes must set high environmental standards without slack.
At the moment the most "green" things one sees are the campaign signs.
Many more issues have been left unaddressed, from energy independence to safety from fire, flood and storm surge.
And the city is not only an economic centre but also the bedrock of modern Thai cultural heritage. To preserve and balance those values with growth and development - such is expected of a Bangkok governor.
The problem is that the title "Governor" is misleading. According to law, he or she is virtually powerless to solve all of the above-mentioned problems. Mr Apirak is lucky enough to be able to order the garbage trucks around.
The rest lies with political haggling with the central government. It is thus time to rethink how we run our capital city. To be able to effectively solve anything, a full-scale administrative reform must be considered.
Or else, all a "Governor" will be able to do is spend the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's budget on public relations to make him look good while collecting the garbage.
Suranand Vejjajiva served in the Thaksin Shinawatra cabinet and is now a political analyst.
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