Mayor denies machinations
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana has denied that political machinations were behind the shock dismissal of her entire deputy mayoral team on April 8 and says the move was merely intended to ensure that the “most suitable people” served under her.
The three former Deputy Mayors, Niwas Aroonrat, Ayuth Tansiriroj, and Piya Siamhan, are all members of the “Young Turks” team which was founded by Ayuth Tansiriroj’s cousin some 30 years ago, and which has ruled the city ever since.
The Young Turks took 14 of 24 seats in municipal elections just over a year ago and K. Somjai, also known as Jae E, was the city’s first directly elected Mayor following the municipality’s upgrade to full city status earlier that year.
Replacing the ousted trio are Sunan Limjanon, Chaipruek Panpruek and dentist Prawit Weerasattayanon.
An indication that the dismissal was perhaps not as cordial as the Mayor is making it out to be lies in the fact that K. Ayuth filed a complaint with the Phuket City Police on April 11 stating that his personal effects had been removed from his desk without his prior notification.
As yet the Gazette has been unable to contact K. Ayuth, whose family also owns Phuket International Hospital.
