Democrat roadshow heads for Phuket

PHUKET: Democrat Party Deputy Leader Jurin Laksanavisit will speak to people in Phuket on June 25 and 26 as part of his party’s nationwide Meet The People campaign. The campaign is aimed at increasing support for the main opposition party in the run-up the next general election, scheduled to take place in February next year. Democrat Party MPs Suwit Sa-Ngiamkul and Chalermlak Kebsup are also expected to address the public during the events. The first rally will be at Saphan Hin on Friday (June 25). Another rally will be held the following night in the field opposite the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Offices. Both events are scheduled to kick off at 7 pm, and both will feature performances by Thai country singer Akachai Sreevichai. K. Suwit told the Gazette today that the Meet The People project will hit 400 electoral districts nationwide, with each event featuring an address by a Democrat Party deputy leader. “K. Jurin will discuss our party platform and comment on the present government’s policies and administration,” he said. He added that the Government had failed to keep its promises to the Phuket people, citing its failure to carry out promises to create a duty-free port or build an International Convention and Exhibition Center. “The 100 billion baht the government promised to give Phuket will probably turn out to be only a few billion,” he saidm stressing, “Phuket is an important province that brings a lot of money into Thailand, so it merits special attention from the Government.” K. Chalermlak told the Gazette that, as an opposition MP, she has monitored the Thaksin government’s administration of Phuket – and is not impressed. She criticized the government for not addressing land encroachment issues in a systematic way and accused it of releasing news on its land investigations in a “non-specific” way that has caused potential developers to hesitate to invest in the province. “I’d like the government to be clear and specific [in the way it presents information],” she said. “If it can’t be straightforward, it shouldn’t say anything at all.” Referring to the Government’s on-going land title case against her sister, Banyong Kebsup, K. Chalermlak said that the land title in question carried a NorSor 3 title that had been upgraded to full Chanote before her sister bought it. Any investigation should focus on how the documents were issued and not on the people who were in legal possession of them, she said. “Now my sister is in trouble because she bought the land but she can’t [develop it] because of this investigation. “However,” she conceded, “government officers have to do their duty. If it turns out that the land belongs to the public it will probably have to be returned.”