Phuket residents to rally against interior permanent secretary

[snoop1130]

Suttipong Juljarern

 

Interior Permanent Secretary Suttipong Juljarern appears to be in hot water again, as people in Phuket plan to rally at the new provincial hall on Thursday to protest over his alleged insults aimed at the provincial administration’s garbage disposal and environment management.

 

Suttipong was also accused of threatening to ask the international community to oppose Phuket’s proposal to host “Specialised Expo 2028”, claiming that the province is not qualified to organise such an event because it has failed in the protection and management of the environment and in promoting awareness of the climate change issue.

 

Chaiyot Punyawai, president of the Phuket Lawyers Association, said in his recent Facebook post that Suttipong’s remarks have tarnished the reputation of Phuket, claiming that Phuket is among a number of provinces highly ranked by the country’s National Anti-Corruption Commission for its transparency and good governance. In addition, he said that Phuket normally generates over 400 billion baht in tourist revenues.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/phuket-residents-to-rally-against-interior-permanent-secretary/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-01-04

 

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[tomazbodner]

26 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Suttipong’s remarks have tarnished the reputation of Phuket, claiming that Phuket is among a number of provinces highly ranked by the country’s National Anti-Corruption Commission for its transparency and good governance.

...

[ThailandRyan]

Guy seems to be a self centered SOB who believes he is the almighty decision maker. Wonder if it was because he did not receive any brown envelopes....

[billd766]

Could he be correct?

 

After all, so many stories that I read about Phuket, is that it is a gimme gimme island that always wants more from the government, but never seems to pass any profits back.

[Old Croc]

14 hours ago, billd766 said:

Could he be correct?

 

After all, so many stories that I read about Phuket, is that it is a gimme gimme island that always wants more from the government, but never seems to pass any profits back.

Pre-covid, more than 9 million international visitors visited Phuket Province annually generating an enormous amount of tourism income for Thailand.

Obviously, as a small Island province it doesn't generate income from industry nor agriculture, but has long been considered to be the richest province. it contributes much more to the Thai economy than it receives back from the centralist government. 

Yet it lacks much of the basic infrastructure common in other parts of the country. There is no train service, local transport and roads are very poor, water provision is sometimes critically low and household water is not available at all for many in this small urban Island. 

Despite the off-putting countenance of the character in the pic at the top, in my opinion, he does have a point about the dismal lack of environmentally sound garbage and sewage disposal. However, I feel the central government, of which he is part, is more to blame than the locals for the lack of funding to upgrade these facilities. 

[nigelforbes]

7 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

Pre-covid, more than 9 million international visitors visited Phuket Province annually generating an enormous amount of tourism income for Thailand.

Obviously, as a small Island province it doesn't generate income from industry nor agriculture, but has long been considered to be the richest province. it contributes much more to the Thai economy than it receives back from the centralist government. 

Yet it lacks much of the basic infrastructure common in other parts of the country. There is no train service, local transport and roads are very poor, water provision is sometimes critically low and household water is not available at all for many in this small urban Island. 

Despite the off-putting countenance of the character in the pic at the top, in my opinion, he does have a point about the dismal lack of environmentally sound garbage and sewage disposal. However, I feel the central government, of which he is part, is more to blame than the locals for the lack of funding to upgrade these facilities. 

Phuket is not the richest province in terms of GPP, it's quite a way down the list.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thai_provinces_by_GPP

[billd766]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

Pre-covid, more than 9 million international visitors visited Phuket Province annually generating an enormous amount of tourism income for Thailand.

Obviously, as a small Island province it doesn't generate income from industry nor agriculture, but has long been considered to be the richest province. it contributes much more to the Thai economy than it receives back from the centralist government. 

Yet it lacks much of the basic infrastructure common in other parts of the country. There is no train service, local transport and roads are very poor, water provision is sometimes critically low and household water is not available at all for many in this small urban Island. 

Despite the off-putting countenance of the character in the pic at the top, in my opinion, he does have a point about the dismal lack of environmentally sound garbage and sewage disposal. However, I feel the central government, of which he is part, is more to blame than the locals for the lack of funding to upgrade these facilities. 

Where I live in rural Kamphaeng Phet the nearest railway station is 130km away down in Nakhon Sawan. 3 bus rides away.

 

The next nearest would be Pichet, about 160 km and then Phitsanulok 180 km away.

 

The roads in general are pretty good

 

There is NO local transport from my village, next to the Mae Wong national park to the big village 6km away. You can get a national bus to Bangkok 4 times a day, or take a baht bus 60 km to Kamphaeng Phet.

 

Whilst most of the houses are now on a main water supply the farmland is mostly rainfed.

 

Sewage disposal is a matter of calling for the honey truck every so often.

 

We do get a garbage collection once a week from the big village but where they dispose it I have no idea.

 

I found an interesting link here where you can compare provinces, population and income in Thailand.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thai_provinces_by_GPP

 

 

@nigelforbes  My apologies as I replied to @Old Croc before I saw your post.

[Old Croc]

On 1/5/2023 at 12:06 PM, billd766 said:

Where I live in rural Kamphaeng Phet the nearest railway station is 130km away down in Nakhon Sawan. 3 bus rides away.

 

The next nearest would be Pichet, about 160 km and then Phitsanulok 180 km away.

 

The roads in general are pretty good

 

There is NO local transport from my village, next to the Mae Wong national park to the big village 6km away. You can get a national bus to Bangkok 4 times a day, or take a baht bus 60 km to Kamphaeng Phet.

 

Whilst most of the houses are now on a main water supply the farmland is mostly rainfed.

 

Sewage disposal is a matter of calling for the honey truck every so often.

 

We do get a garbage collection once a week from the big village but where they dispose it I have no idea.

 

I found an interesting link here where you can compare provinces, population and income in Thailand.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thai_provinces_by_GPP

 

 

@nigelforbes  My apologies as I replied to @Old Croc before I saw your post.

Where I now live in Loei Province the nearest rail is also about 150km away (Phitsonulok). I don't expect every isolated area of the kingdom to have a train service, but one of the world's major tourist destinations should be linked to the capital, before too many trains to China are built. All announced planning for future train routes still doesn't include this major Island city. Geography precludes airport expansion, so commuter flights won't continue to meet the future demand.

On our farm, the sewage goes into holes in the ground, and no one collects rubbish apart from some guy who pops up very occasionally to get the bottles and cardboard. I don't expect much more, I chose to live here. However, I do have water piped to the property despite the very isolated area. I don't think it unreasonable to believe Phuket should have a better source and distribution of this essential commodity if small rural towns and properties are catered to.

Comparing rural communities to a virtual city state that attracts 9 million international visitors a year is a little silly. All of Phuket should be on government water and have modern garbage and sewage disposal. 

Despite your claim that income flows one way with Phuket the opposite is much more correct.  Most of the Islands tourist billions find their way to Bangkok's coffers. (And more than a few officials' pockets on the way!)

Believe it or not, I checked that very link on wiki you quoted before writing and didn't make any claims about GDP. Read my words again. The Richest Province title that many frequently use is more about average wealth. This is why I specifically made comment about industry and agriculture. 

The capital, and the provinces with the big car factories and other industry are always going to rank highest in GDP.