Supawadee Susanpoolthong

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) should demand the government return jobs that rightfully belong to it through the Administrative Court, a political analyst said.

Nakharin Mektrairat, dean of Thammasat University's faculty of political science, said city hall needed to stop ``bowing to the government'' and start ``thinking outside the box''.

Mr Nakharin said the constitution heralded an age of power decentralisation, and several laws were in place to put local governments in charge of basic responsibilities such as managing education and solving environmental problems.

``But the BMA dares not fight to take back those responsibilities because it does not want to confront the government,'' he said.

City hall should live up to its leadership role that other local administrations admired, he said.

Mr Nakharin was speaking at the June 23 roundtable discussion on the city's administrative reform.

The talk was part of the Taking Bangkok 2004 media coverage of the Aug 29 Bangkok governor election, held by an alliance of the Bangkok Post, Post Today, Independent Television, GG News, Bangkok Forum, Suan Dusit Poll and Thammasat University's faculty of political science.

Noranit Setabutr, secretary-general of King Prajadhipok's Institute, said BMA must do public services such as garbage collection, traffic management and waste water treatment.

Mr Noranit, however, said the Bangkok governor deserved sympathy.

Unless laws were amended to give city hall true power and independence in doing its job, Bangkok residents should not foist overly-high expectations on their governor.

Several opinion surveys found Bangkok people wanted their governor to solve traffic, flood and public transport problems.

The law, however, gave BMA little power to do so.

``The footpaths belong to BMA, but not the city streets, which come under traffic police,'' Mr Noranit said.

The city bus agency also came under a different outfit, along with road construction and flood prevention.

Mr Nakharin said the Administrative Court was waiting for a local administration to fight for its mandate.

``The court is waiting to see whether any organisation will come forward wanting to retrieve functions the government has taken away,'' he said.

Bangkok governor candidates should make it their policy to re-define the scope of work between the government and BMA.

The governor also should seek help from the public in improving and managing their own communities or hold a referendum on city development plans, Mr Nakharin said.

Sutha Nitipanon, a city councillor from the Democrat party, said he believed the Bangkok governor could get a lot done if he or she had good management skills.

``But so far we have not had a governor who is that able and skillful,'' Mr Sutha said.

Orathai Kokpol, director of Thammasat University's Graduate Study Programme in Politics, said city people should not have to keep hoping for good luck to come in the form of a competent governor.

Ms Orathai said the system must be overhauled so the governor could get all the support he or she needs in running city hall.