Brave Enough to Change Phuket
PHUKET: A council reclaimed public land on the beachfront at Bang Tao yesterday as Phuket's local authorities were given 30 days to properly organise vendors and services on Phuket's famous beaches.
The 30-days deadline came from Vice Governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada who told the local authorities that it was time to ''clean'' Phuket and reveal ''who is involved.''
The vice governor used the Thai words for ''rough face,'' an expression that is often connected with underhand dealings or corruption.
Vice Governor Jamleran made it plain that he wants the Phuket beaches properly managed and said he was prepared to call in the Department of Special Investigation unless the beaches were ''clean.''
He also spoke of taxi drivers who go into hotels and act as though they have control.
''You have to be brave,'' he said, addrssing the meeting of council mayors, officers and police at Phuket Provincial Hall in Phuket City. ''Don't be afraid. Do your best.''
About the same time yesterday, an excavator was used to demolish the final remnants of a controversial building on a corner of the Bang Tao canal at Bang Tao beach.
The demolition was ordered by Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-Ann Samran and it followed a revolt by local residents.
The locals objected to a spurious claim for ownership of the land, amounting to about one rai, that had been bungalows and was privately owned until the 2004 tsunami wrecked the property.
The then owner, having been compensated for his losses by the national government, turned over the property to the public.
Yesterday's action by Mayor Ma-ann was an acknowledgement that the land is public property. He said the klong will be widened at the seafront. Work being done upstream will make it more difficult for polluters to dump ''bad water'' into the canal without detection.
Other intrusions and illegal claims are likely to face challenges along Phuket's shorefronts as residents fight to reclaim their beaches.
Having set a 30-day deadline for organising Phuket's beaches, Vice Governor Jamleran said he hoped to have a meeting with representatives from the Karon-based Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket on Monday.
Phuketwan does not believe local councils can be entrusted to properly protect and preserve Phuket's beaches and advocates the establishment of an independent Phuket Beach Authority so laws are constantly and consistently applied.
I agree with the vice governor that it is time to clean Phuket and reveal who is involved. But when it comes to corruption then the vast majority of the population is involved as some demand bribes, some pay them and the rest don't do anything about it...it is an incorporated part of the Thai society and is accepted as such . To change this education is required and a willingness ,that is not present today, to enforce anti-corruption laws already in place, before that happens statements made by the vice governor can only be seen as a political statement made for pleasing critics of the present situation.
Polution is more or less the same story, there is a rising awareness in the society but very few do anything about it. Enforcing excisting laws would help a lot and a general information to the public would be helpful as well.
Posted by Sailor on June 21, 2013 10:37