Brave Enough to Change Phuket
PHUKET: A landmark will come in Phuket's ''Big Cleanup'' campaign tomorrow when progress and future directions become clearer at a media conference.
The conference will follow two hours of talks at Phuket Police headquarters in Phuket City involving the major players in the campaign.
A consultant to the Thai Royal Police, Major General Woot Lipataphanlob, is likely to become more involved.
He will be joining representatives from the Department of Special Investigation, local police, Phuket's administration and the Tourism and Sport Ministry at the gathering.
Investigators have been at work across Phuket and tourists, expats and residents have had a chance to add their information.
Phuket's taxis and tuk-tuks remain top of the list for action. What's unclear yet is how deep the operation aims to cut into Phuket's multilayered corruption.
The future of the island as a tourist destination probably rides on how good a job the authorities make of this campaign - a second chance is unlikely to come along anytime soon.
A key test will be whether Phuket emerges from the campaign with a well-run, efficient taxi system that sees current extortionate fares slashed by half.
Taxi numbers also need to be not just limited but reduced. The whole foolish notion of Phuket's male population dreaming of a lucrative future behind the wheel of a cab must cease.
Passengers in Phuket taxis and tuk-tuks at present pay not just for the trip they take but also for the trip that the taxi or tuk-tuk takes back to its base, empty.
Until Phuket has a system where taxis and tuk-tuks can pick up and set down passengers across the whole island for a cost that rivals fares in Bangkok, there will be work to be done.
Corruption is the other big issue. The fancy title for the two Crime Crisis Centres now collecting data on Phuket are the ''Integrated Operational Centres for Prevention and Suppressing Organised Crime.''
The DSI announced its ''Phuket Target 11'' on arrival on Phuket. Clearly, nobody named on the list would expect to be pleased.
The promise on arrival day at Phuket airport was that someone connected with that list would face charges within 30 days. Ten days on, perhaps an element of realism will have entered the thinking.
Let's all pray to whoever we choose that this works and all comes out the best for all of us. This might be make or break time for Phuket tourism. If this fails, the news will ripple all over the world.
Posted by rc on August 20, 2013 09:46