As I drove past so many election signs this past weeks, I had a serious thought of the areas which I would like my next governor to address.
Last week, I read dreadful news that almost a million Thai would be out of job in 2009, up from 530,000 in the first nine months of 2008. Our economy is facing a serious downturn, there are increasing numbers of people outside of Bangkok seeking job in the city, but lacking the skills to be employed. Airports shutdown, political unrest, tourists fleeing the country and capital divestment, all contributed towards making the economy more severe next year.
Thailand already lacks the capability to deal with its own existing fundamental issues without these recent problems fueling the fire. It has too many unskilled upcountry populations lingering around looking for unavailable jobs. This leads to an increase in crime rate, prostitution, and illegal businesses. People stops caring about the environment and improving the society when they couldn’t help themselves with every day basic needs. This brings us back to the fundamental building block of education.
Bangkok city governor can only do the job well when the governor understands that Bangkok’s problems are Thailand’s issues, and tackle the problem on a bigger scale with long term results. We need to address the root cause, not from the tip of the iceberg, like putting a fake bear tree on the road. That’s what I called a coriander on porridge.
Thailand statistic is still showing the number of students declining as they go through primary school to secondary to college/universities. The numbers of schools with access to internet or computer are at the unacceptable level. How inspiring is it for a child to see an old illustrate text books with farmers as a role model, and this is what he should grow up to be?
We need to help our children compete in a 21st century world, and we need to make sure they receive 21st century education. We need more qualified teachers, doctors and more jobs in the countryside. We need to build better roads, bridges, access to electricity, telecommunication, and create a strong communities in every single corners of Thailand.
We need to modernize our health care system. Hospitals should be able to share information of the patients, an integrated system, where patients can go to any hospital in the country, and there would be a full record, and using a cutting edge technology to treat the patients. We are not saving money, but the aim is to save life and improving it.
I also want to see the governor tackled the energy efficiency in Bangkok buildings. We need to turn the air-condition higher, so people stop wearing jumpers in the cinema or feeling chill every time they walk in the department stores or in their office building. We also need to do something about the traffic on Sukhumvit road leading to Siam, because it meant we are losing millions of baht each year on burnt unused petrol in traffic. Bangkok needs to regulate the public places being built in highly dense populated area; we need to expand the community out in an organized way.
These are a few parts of my Bangkok recovery plan that I would like to see the next Bangkok governor tackles instead of fumbling around with the corianders. These issues require urgent actions, and Thai has been waiting far too long to be saved. These countryside kids and unemployed workers need to know they have a future. And the governor who could think outside the box and even showed me a small sign on their posters that he/she sees Bangkok as a symptom of Thailand’s chronic illness will deserve to be our governor.
Tags: Bangkok Governor
