PHUKET: The people have spoken. Now let the people of Phuket speak again, and again and again.
The extraordinary public meeting called by Rawai municipality on Friday to decide the fate of a glade of shorefront trees was a victory for commonsense.
The Mayor of Rawai and the Director of Tourism for Phuket are to be commended for allowing the meeting to take place, and for listening to the people.
It's a great victory for them, too.
The trees, on the shorefront at iconic Nai Harn beach, were to be lopped to make way for a movie museum. That would have been a disastrous outcome for Phuket, as expats and local residents pointed out at Friday night's meeting.
There were about 100 people inside the meeting room and 20 or more outside, unable to squeeze in.
When the vote came, the 30 or so expats in the audience were told their opinions would not count. But they put up their hands anyway.
Only four people voted for the museum. The decision leaves the final location of the museum yet to be decided, but it's a win-win for Phuket and for Phuket tourism.
The beautiful natural glade at Nai Harn has been spared, and the movie museum can now go somewhere else on the island where its presence will be more appropriate - and probably much more successful.
The other positive to be drawn from the extraordinary meeting was the recognition by authorities for the first time that all stakeholders should be consulted about important decisions on Phuket, even if they don't all have voting rights.
We have no doubt that official processes were ticked off in the awarding of the 40 million baht contract to build the museum on the foreshore.
Back in April, Phuketwan first told readers the museum was coming. But only when 32 trees were marked for immediate destruction earlier this month did the penny drop for residents and for Nai Harn's band of regular visitors.
Their reaction came late, but it was comprehensive and effective.
We now venture to suggest that the management of Phuket's beaches would not still be imperfect and unresolved if all stakeholders had been given a similar say soon after commerce was cleared by the military last year.
It's not yet too late. Why not hold an extraordinary public meeting and listen to the opinions of all stakeholders before a final decision is made - even if the votes of non-Thais are not counted?
The most important and perceptive research about Phuket's beaches was conducted by an independent University of Songkhla team, and their conclusions wisely incorporated the wishes and the needs of expats and tourists.
For the administrators of an international island to ignore expats who choose Phuket as their home and visitors who pay all the bills is simply untenable.
Phuketwan now suggests that the 23.5 billion baht tram being proposed as the answer to all of Phuket's public transport dreams also needs to be a topic at an extraordinary public meeting of all stakeholders, and soon.
We made an issue of the Nai Harn glade and we will make an issue of other topics for as long as we can because we believe Phuket needs good decision-making.
That won't happen unless all stakeholders have a say in the future.
The extraordinary public meeting called by Rawai municipality on Friday to decide the fate of a glade of shorefront trees was a victory for commonsense.
The Mayor of Rawai and the Director of Tourism for Phuket are to be commended for allowing the meeting to take place, and for listening to the people.
It's a great victory for them, too.
The trees, on the shorefront at iconic Nai Harn beach, were to be lopped to make way for a movie museum. That would have been a disastrous outcome for Phuket, as expats and local residents pointed out at Friday night's meeting.
There were about 100 people inside the meeting room and 20 or more outside, unable to squeeze in.
When the vote came, the 30 or so expats in the audience were told their opinions would not count. But they put up their hands anyway.
Only four people voted for the museum. The decision leaves the final location of the museum yet to be decided, but it's a win-win for Phuket and for Phuket tourism.
The beautiful natural glade at Nai Harn has been spared, and the movie museum can now go somewhere else on the island where its presence will be more appropriate - and probably much more successful.
The other positive to be drawn from the extraordinary meeting was the recognition by authorities for the first time that all stakeholders should be consulted about important decisions on Phuket, even if they don't all have voting rights.
We have no doubt that official processes were ticked off in the awarding of the 40 million baht contract to build the museum on the foreshore.
Back in April, Phuketwan first told readers the museum was coming. But only when 32 trees were marked for immediate destruction earlier this month did the penny drop for residents and for Nai Harn's band of regular visitors.
Their reaction came late, but it was comprehensive and effective.
We now venture to suggest that the management of Phuket's beaches would not still be imperfect and unresolved if all stakeholders had been given a similar say soon after commerce was cleared by the military last year.
It's not yet too late. Why not hold an extraordinary public meeting and listen to the opinions of all stakeholders before a final decision is made - even if the votes of non-Thais are not counted?
The most important and perceptive research about Phuket's beaches was conducted by an independent University of Songkhla team, and their conclusions wisely incorporated the wishes and the needs of expats and tourists.
For the administrators of an international island to ignore expats who choose Phuket as their home and visitors who pay all the bills is simply untenable.
Phuketwan now suggests that the 23.5 billion baht tram being proposed as the answer to all of Phuket's public transport dreams also needs to be a topic at an extraordinary public meeting of all stakeholders, and soon.
We made an issue of the Nai Harn glade and we will make an issue of other topics for as long as we can because we believe Phuket needs good decision-making.
That won't happen unless all stakeholders have a say in the future.
Beach management incompetence abounds on Phuket unfortunately.
I wonder how many of these "officials" and coastal decision makers have actually been to other international beaches, let alone spent a day here on the beach. They just do not understand what makes other beaches successful whilst local day to day, hit and miss policies here create such farce and confusion.
Posted by Hugh Jarse on November 22, 2015 10:07