Democrat seniors meet in Samui after internal rows
CURRENT and former Democrat heavyweights yesterday met in Surat Thani province in light of internal conflicts posing threat to its popularity in the capital after the party severed ties with its deputy leader, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and Sukhumbhand were among those who joined the Samui Festival at the invitation of the party's former secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban, who now chairs the Great Mass of People's Foundation for Thailand's Reforms. Other ex-Democrats there included Sathit Wongnongtoey and Thaworn Senneam. It was hoped their presence at the event would also raise the profile of Koh Samui as a world-class tourist destination and raise funds to build a college on the island. Abhisit on Saturday apologised to Bangkok residents for what he termed as failure to monitor and check the work of Sukhumbhand, who has won two consecutive gubernatorial terms and has one year left under his second term. Scandals
The Bangkok governor is embroiled in several scandals, including corruption allegations.
They include his failure to solve the city's flooding problem, alleged irregularities in the procurement of 47,000 security cameras, the Bt39-million "Bangkok Light of Happiness" display and extending BTS Krungthep Thanakom Co Ltd's contract to operate Skytrain services for another 30 years, even though the company has 17 years remaining on its current contract. In a statement last week, the Democrat Party said Sukhumbhand was responsible for his own actions after he claimed he was too busy to discuss the accusations with the party. Despite being disowned, Sukhumbhand insisted he would not quit the party and would continue to work till his term ended.