Communication blame-game helps no one

COMMENTARY

Communication blame-game helps no one

Published: 30/01/2012 at 02:26 AM
Newspaper section: News

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration came under heavy fire by Pheu Thai ministers over its alleged foot dragging in implementing flood prevention projects when the cabinet met last Tuesday. At the meeting, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged all relevant agencies responsible for flood prevention to start working immediately and to show some results in two weeks time, otherwise the budgets already allocated to them would be recalled.

Echoing the prime minister's warning, Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit made an outright threat to Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra that he might fire the governor if City Hall refuses to work with the government in preventing the next floods predicted for this year. However, the minister quickly added that removing the governor would be the last resort.

It is an open fact that there is no love lost between the Pheu Thai-led government and the city administration under Governor MR Sukhumbhand, a Democrat. During the flood crisis last year, the governor openly defied the government-appointed Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) headed by Justice Minister Pracha Promnok by sticking to the BMA's own flood prevention plan for Bangkok. It only agreed to work with Froc when pressured by the government.

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About the author

: Writer: Veera Prateepchaikul; Position: Former Editor

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johninbkk
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Discussion 2 : 30/01/2012 at 03:51 PM2
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FROC was the last minute response to the floods, meant to minimize the damage at literally the last minute. FROC didn't cause the flooding, even though it didn't function 100% perfect in the first two weeks. The actually cause is a decades long mismanagement of Thailands waterways and drainage systems by a long list of both national and local administrations. Blaming it on FROC is like blaming the janitor for the mess. The author needs to ask himself why nothing was done after the damaging 2010 floods - anything at all could have made a huge difference in 2011.

As for communication, politicians need to stop using the media as a form of email. It's a boring game of saving face.
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bkposter
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Discussion 1 : 30/01/2012 at 08:10 AM1
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Veera....It takes to sides to bicker, and two sides to argue, and both sides are guilty of throwing fuel on the fire in the name of politics.
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Communication blame-game helps no one | Bangkok Post: opinion