PATONG Mayor Pian Keesin is inviting Patong residents to discuss 'The Future of Patong' at a gathering on Wednesday. Big billboards around Patong are advertising the public forum.

A large turnout of about 2000 people is expected at the football ground opposite Loma Park between 3pm and 6pm for a free buffet. The questions and the answers are likely to be in the Thai language, but that probably won't make them any less interesting.

In a trial for transparency, a much smaller gathering was held in March, when Mayor Keesin fielded questions from a select local audience. It's likely that Wednesday afternoon's gathering will be more vocal than local.

Back in March, the mayor acknowledged that tuk-tuk drivers paid off police and local authorities to gain the best parking spots along beach road.

He said that corruption had to stop before improvements could be made.

With a letter coming to the Phuket governor from Thailand's Human Rights Commission last week saying much the same thing, it's probably time for the mayor to reveal what is being done to solve the problem.

Tackling corruption is the most important issue, not just for Patong but for all of Phuket. Even some corrupt people are beginning to realise that it's gone too far.

While tourists are still coming to Phuket in large numbers, most of them are not always impressed with what they find, especially these days in Patong.

As leading Australian travel agent Jim McCoy told Phuketwan ''My fear is that it is going to start to be like Pattaya, and that is a concern.

''I find it really annoying now walking down the streets of Patong, because you are getting all of these supposedly Thais jumping out and saying, 'Do you want a suit', or 'Come to my restaurant'. If people want to buy something, let them have a look and say 'Is there anything I can do to help,' and do it in a civil manner. But this aggression in trying to grab you is just not on.''

If Mr McCoy could be there on Wednesday, we guess he might also have some questions about illegal migrant labor, tuk-tuks and high fares.

''Tuk-tuk drivers and prices have become a real issue,'' he told Phuketwan. ''I know that they have become very aggressive on price and that they're pretty dangerous to deal with in some cases.''

The mayor himself said back in March that the tuk-tuk corruption had to stop. But when the issue surfaced last week, an application was being made to add 150 tuk-tuks to the existing 700-800 tuk-tuks in Patong.

How can that be permitted without fixing the corruption first?

As Mr McCoy said: ''I think it's this mafia thing that, really, the governor and the government need to rustle up enough muscle and be very aware of what they are doing. It all leaves a very nasty taste in the tourists' mouths. They go home and tell everybody else, 'Don't go there, you get ripped off. They'll rob you', or whatever.''

It doesn't make sense, either to have a tunnel between Kathu and Patong when there is no real public transport on the island. And if there is growing corruption . . . it will not be too much longer before Patong is priced off the tourist map.