Apirak
Kosayodhin
 The
forty-three year old Thai has been involved in business for much of
his life. He began his working life at Pizza Hut on Suriwong road,
sweeping the floor and kneading pizza dough. He went on to become
chief executive of the entertainment conglomerate, GMM Grammy Plc
before taking over the reins as head of the telecom firm TA Orange.
He resigned from the mobile phone firm to enter the governors race.
Mr Apirak would be the first governor to come from the business sector.
Previous governors were all civil officials, academics or politicians.The candidate is structuring his campaign around the theme “Our Bangkok”, with emphasis on public participation in city management and development. Apirak said his many meetings with Bangkok residents had led him to conclude that the city needed to be developed along five key lines: as a learning centre; a home for happy families; a beautiful and peaceful city; a capital free of congestion; and a place where all residents have a bright future in terms of career choice. Apirak said that Bangkok residents often feel they have nothing to do with the city's problems. They think it's the job of the governor or Bangkok's administrative staff. “I think it's time for all of us to participate in solving the problems of our city and making it a place where we want to live, where we are proud to live,” he said. Apirak plans to use better information and communication technology in developing schools run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA). He also wants to open public libraries and pre-school nurseries offering a free service to children whose parents work in the daytime. He says education is a priority. If elected governor of Bangkok one of his first priorities would be to focus on the development of all 1,569 square kilometres of the city, as opposed to focusing on the main growth areas. He plans to divide Bangkok into 50 clusters. “The infrastructure, information and communications technology must be made available in every cluster,'' he declared. The second area is quality of life. He emphasized that less privileged people must be given an opportunity to lead a happy life The “Bangkok Bond”, which is a cornerstone of the Democrat Party's campaign platform in the coming election, may well prove to be an interesting investment alternative and a good way to raise funds for urban development. The idea of a municipal bond is not a new one. Successive Bangkok governors have proposed similar ideas for funding necessary infrastructure improvements. While the central government controls many agencies serving the capital, notably in public transport, it is unwilling or unable to commit the money needed to make them function efficiently. However, Apirak has refreshed the bond concept, arguing that the sales pitch should be aimed at average citizens and not just big institutional investors. Funds raised from the Bangkok Bond would be used in projects such as constructing new schools or renovating existing ones, developing sophisticated waste management systems, building public infrastructure, creating more public parks and playgrounds, and resolving perennial traffic congestion. Several financial analysts argued the bond initiative while good in theory, could be difficult to implement. |
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