Democratic Party candidate Surat “Mike”
Mekavarakul (left) and Palang Chon Party hopeful Poramet Ngampichet
square off in a local debate.
Thanachot Anuwan
Local independence vs. national experience were the
choices two candidates seeking to represent Pattaya in parliament gave
voters as the Chonburi Power and Democratic parties faced off in a
pre-election debate.
Former Chonburi MP Poramet Ngampichet and former
Pattaya mayoral candidate Surat “Mike” Mekavarakul tossed voters laundry
lists of projects their parties had sponsored at the June 14 debate at
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.
Surat, head of the Mike Group of shopping malls and
hotels, argued that the Democrats had earned the right to be re-elected,
having launched a 900 million baht redevelopment of U-Tapao Pattaya
International Airport and a high-speed rail link between the east and
northeast.
He said the ruling party had a proven track record on
infrastructure in all of Thailand’s provinces, including the Klong Luang
Reservoir and new sea routes to benefit tourism. The Democrats had also
bettered the country through its free primary school education policy
and immigration crackdown, which he said has slowed the arrival of
illegal immigrant prostitutes to Pattaya.
But despite his long experience in Pattaya tourism,
it was Poramet, not Surat, who played the local-experience card.
The son of Thaksin Shinawatra’s deputy public health
minister, Poramet touted the agenda of Pattaya’s city government and
Chonburi’s top officials - all members of the Kunplome clan that
dominates his Palang Chon party - rather than his own short record in
government.
He argued the electing a Chonburi Power Party MP was
the best move for Pattaya, as its members are made up of the same people
who’ve been running the province for 30 years.
It was under that management, he said, that Pattaya
grew to generate 70 billion baht a year in revenue, launched restoration
of the eroded beachfront, city-wide closed-circuit television,
improvements in infrastructure and utilities, and a stable water supply.
He said Palang Chon’s members understand the problems
facing the Pattaya area best and are already working to further its
development with such projects as the Sukhumvit Road intersection
tunnels.
Most significantly, the Thaksin-era MP said, the
Chonburi Power Party is independent from red and yellow factions that
have divided Thailand since 2006. What Poramet failed to mention was
that the party’s founding advisor is a former Thaksin cabinet member
banned from politics and that, until just two months ago, Palang Chon’s
members comprised a faction in the Democratic ruling coalition.
Wrapping up the debate sponsored by the Pattaya Business & Tourism
Association and three hotel- and restaurant-related groups, Pattaya
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome urged everyone attending to vote July 3.
