BANGKOK, March 25 – Nearly half of Bangkok residents view Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra as failing to impress them with any outstanding performance during his past year in office, according to the Bangkok Poll.
The latest survey by Bangkok University’s Bangkok Poll questioned 1,188 Bangkokians during March 21-24, reporting that Mr Sukhumbhand nonetheless scored 5.65 out of 10, down by 0.27 points compared with his poll results from six months ago.
Mr Sukhumbhand earned the highest scores; 5.96 points for his idea to develop Bangkok as an ASEAN metropolis. Respondents, however, were most dissatisfied and gave 5.22 points for the campaign to promote Bangkok as the City of Happiness.
According to the poll, respondents gave him 5.46 out of 10 points for his overall performance, down by 0.18 points compared to six months ago. Mr Sukhumbhand’s greatest strength was his dedication to work, while delayed responses were his weakest point.
Some 45.5 per cent of respondents viewed that Mr Sukhumbhand’s performance has been outstanding, especially due to the recent increased installation of CCTV security cameras, followed by electric mass transit train route expansion and his attempt to add more green space, parks and recreational areas. The remaining 54.5 per cent, however, viewed that Mr Sukhumbhand achieved no impressive performance during the past year.
Asked whether Bangkok has made any progress since he began his second term, slightly more than half of the respondents said that they saw no improvement, while 34 per cent thought his performance had improved and 14.8 per cent said it had worsened.
Meanwhile, the governor commented on the poll result, saying that he was unworried but he did try his best to protect the city during the last four months of political unrest. He said that he could stand the pressure and that he had no problems if he is not reelected next time as nothing is permanent in politics.
Mr Sukhumbhan stated that if the court decided to disqualify him for violating election law after his supporters slandered his opponent during the election campaigns and calls for a poll re-run then he would have to suspend all his work. However, he said, the deputy governors and officials concerned would remain in office.
He is entirely prepared for any legal fight, he remarked and said he has appointed former chairman of a lawyers’ association to defend his case.
