Chiang Mai Group Keen To Elect Own Governor

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SPECIAL REPORT
Chiang Mai group keen to elect own governor
Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation

CHIANG MAI: -- With Bangkok gubernatorial election well behind, some people in Chiang Mai as well as the three southernmost provinces are now seeking greater decentralisation, including the right to elect their own governor though they say it will be an uphill struggle to convince those in the security sector.

Chamnan Chanruang, a lawyer and member of Chiang Mai's Midnight University, said a move to collect signatures to push for the Chiang Mai Metropolitan Bill began on January 27. So far, 40 forums have been held in all of the province's 25 districts.

The draft bill includes not just the right to elect a Chiang Mai governor but also the establishment of a civil jury as well as changes in the distribution of taxes.

Chiang Mai, he said, currently received only 25 per cent of the accrued taxes and locals deserved more. Despite the far-reaching nature of the proposals, Chamnan believes the time is ripe and that he has support of the state security sector, adding that the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) had taken part in some of the forums.

'Provincial voters are smart'

He said Bangkokians and other Thais who think people in the provinces are not educated or mature enough to elect their own governor should think again because the percentage of voters exercising their right during general election is often higher in the provinces. And at the local level during the city administrative election, voters in the provinces demonstrated they are not reluctant to remove ineffective administrators.

"Even if we end up having a mafioso as governor, we can still vote them out," he said, adding that Chiang Mai had had eight appointed governors over the past 10 years and this did not make for effective administration.

In Lampang, back in 2008, the province had to cope with three different appointed governors, he said. Nevertheless, none of the governments in office appears willing to support such a move, Chamnan acknowledged. He said the trend isn't going away and is spreading in many provinces in the Kingdom though forms and details may vary.

A similar move is taking place in the three southernmost provinces although people feel chances are even slimmer there.

Somchai Kulkirirattana, head the of Halal Consumer Protection Assembly in Yala, is a key member of a movement to push the Pattani Metropolitan Bill in Parliament. He acknowledged that it will be difficult to realise the dream as there is a deep-rooted fear that elected governors in the deep South will be the first step towards the secession of Pattani and the rest of the deep South from the Thai state.

"Those in the security sector want to maintain centralised power. The problem is there," he said. But what Somchai found interesting is that even local business communities support the move to decentralise. The group wants an elected provincial council to have the power to scrutinise and impeach an elected governor as well, so that the governor will be truly responsive to local people.

Taking a cautious view is retired Army General Ekkachai Srivilas, director of the Office of Peace and Governance at King Prajadhipok's Institute, who said the deep South would most likely have to wait till half the Kingdom managed to have their own elected governors.

"The security sector is paranoid," Ekkachai said. "If you rush it, you will kill it."

Ekkachai said he was aware, like Chamnan, that 40 to 50 provinces are also considering pushing for one form of decentralisation, but he thinks that Chiang Mai is the most prepared to lead.

They have public support, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra also hails from Chiang Mai, and they have an academic group to back them, Ekkachai said. He added, however, that it would be a tug of war and he would be surprised if it materialised in five years.

Chamnan is not willing to wait and said the group will present the draft bill to Parliament by yearend, with many more than the 10,000 signatures required by law.


-- The Nation 2013-04-17