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Govt wrestles with telling truth or lies about floods
As the nation reels from the worst floods in decades that have ravaged businesses and damaged the livelihoods of millions of people, it appears the public is being kept in the dark by a government which believes that telling the truth might backfire.
A recent Abac poll showed that the government's flood relief centre had failed the credibility test. On a scale of zero to 10, the centre scored only 3.6, reflecting growing public impatience with the government's approach to the crisis.
Sources at the flood relief operation centre at Don Mueang airport said that concerned ministers and authorities were at loggerheads about how to deal with the floods.
Some wanted to tell the truth to the public, while others thought playing it close to the chest was the best policy. The conflict between Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi and Justice Minister Pracha Promnok is a case in point. Mr Plodprasop's recent flood alert was retracted by Pol Gen Pracha, head of the flood relief centre, who thought that telling the truth would hurt the government's image.
See also: Relief centre gets resounding thumbs-down
When the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate was breached by floods on Monday, government flood relief centre spokesman Wim Rungwattanajinda told people to evacuate in seven hours, but Pol Gen Pracha said that moving belongings to high ground should suffice. This left the public baffled.
Contradicting messages and a lack of clarity prevail among state agencies. Bangkok residents were relieved to hear that the capital was declared safe, with massive floodwaters moving past on Sunday. The next day, they were told Bangkok was actually still at risk.
Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra is trying to keep inner Bangkok dry by ensuring that sluice gates and drainage systems allowing runoff into canals remain closed. The capital's outer suburbs have to be swamped as a result.
A source at the flood relief centre said the centre has found it difficult to instruct City Hall and the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) to open and close canal sluice gates.
All the centre can do is respond to problems arising unexpectedly rather than stick to their plans, the source said, adding that flood relief operations could not proceed if other agencies failed to implement the centre's instructions.
If the government had actually taken charge and sped water drainage into the east and west of Bangkok, particularly to Suphan Buri, the worst flooding could have been avoided, the source said.
It has been said a veteran politician from a central province can influence the RID's decision to open and close sluice gates in order to protect his political stronghold. An aerial photo showed there was no substantial amount of water lingering in Suphan Buri, unlike nearby provinces.
The same source said experts from the Netherlands who came to assist in flood relief efforts said that if runoff is not drained fast enough, the extent of the damage will become more widespread and Bangkok's inner areas will eventually be affected.
As the nation reels from the worst floods in decades that have ravaged businesses and damaged the livelihoods of millions of people, it appears the public is being kept in the dark by a government which believes that telling the truth might backfire.
A recent Abac poll showed that the government's flood relief centre had failed the credibility test. On a scale of zero to 10, the centre scored only 3.6, reflecting growing public impatience with the government's approach to the crisis.
Sources at the flood relief operation centre at Don Mueang airport said that concerned ministers and authorities were at loggerheads about how to deal with the floods.
Some wanted to tell the truth to the public, while others thought playing it close to the chest was the best policy. The conflict between Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi and Justice Minister Pracha Promnok is a case in point. Mr Plodprasop's recent flood alert was retracted by Pol Gen Pracha, head of the flood relief centre, who thought that telling the truth would hurt the government's image.
See also: Relief centre gets resounding thumbs-down
When the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate was breached by floods on Monday, government flood relief centre spokesman Wim Rungwattanajinda told people to evacuate in seven hours, but Pol Gen Pracha said that moving belongings to high ground should suffice. This left the public baffled.
Contradicting messages and a lack of clarity prevail among state agencies. Bangkok residents were relieved to hear that the capital was declared safe, with massive floodwaters moving past on Sunday. The next day, they were told Bangkok was actually still at risk.
Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra is trying to keep inner Bangkok dry by ensuring that sluice gates and drainage systems allowing runoff into canals remain closed. The capital's outer suburbs have to be swamped as a result.
A source at the flood relief centre said the centre has found it difficult to instruct City Hall and the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) to open and close canal sluice gates.
All the centre can do is respond to problems arising unexpectedly rather than stick to their plans, the source said, adding that flood relief operations could not proceed if other agencies failed to implement the centre's instructions.
If the government had actually taken charge and sped water drainage into the east and west of Bangkok, particularly to Suphan Buri, the worst flooding could have been avoided, the source said.
It has been said a veteran politician from a central province can influence the RID's decision to open and close sluice gates in order to protect his political stronghold. An aerial photo showed there was no substantial amount of water lingering in Suphan Buri, unlike nearby provinces.
The same source said experts from the Netherlands who came to assist in flood relief efforts said that if runoff is not drained fast enough, the extent of the damage will become more widespread and Bangkok's inner areas will eventually be affected.
