“I’m quick, determined and accurate. My work has to achieve concrete results,” 65-year-old Aswin, who is the first police officer ever to take the top job in Bangkok, said.
“Floodwaters have to be drained as fast as possible. If floods do hit the city next year, they will have to disappear in no more than five hours,” Aswin said, referring to the never-ending draining problems and floods that hit the city every time it rains heavily.
Over the past seven years, Bangkok residents have been holding former governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra responsible for the flooding due to his ineffective administration.
The pressure is now on Aswin, who was appointed by the junta last month to replace Sukhumbhand, to find a solution.
Aswin said he has already come up with plans to deal with possible flooding during next year’s rainy season.
“Yesterday [Wednesday], I discussed with experts how to level up the drainage system,” he said.
“Traffic congestion is also to be resolved. I have coordinated and held meetings with all involved parties, police, the State Railway, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration [BMA]. The resolution requires integration and mutual dependence. Working alone won’t help,” he said.
Apart from his target to free the capital of floods and traffic jams, he has decided to take on another long-standing problem – security.
However, his concern for the capital’s security might have to do with his experience as a police officer who has resolved many high-profile criminal cases.
“The CCTV system will be improved in terms of quality rather than quantity. We will not need to buy more,” he said.
He added that transparency was also a top priority and that he would not destroy his reputation by getting involved in corruption.
“Though I was not elected, I will do my best. I believe I have been appointed due to my previous successes,” Aswin said.
He was one of the Bangkok’s deputy governors under the administration of Sukhumbhand, who was suspended in August due to his alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
Aswin said the scandals were being investigated by the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
He said he did not want to “dig up the past” and preferred instead to help the two agencies prevent “present and future” cases of graft and irregularity. He said that the two agencies could reach him anytime if they smell anything fishy.
A BMA source said: “The new governor is very quick and accessible. Working with him lets us achieve things easily thanks to his clear instructions, goals and high accountability.”
Though Aswin has his hands full with another “great and important” mission – handling the crowds flocking to Sanam Luang to pay their respects to His Majesty the King – he can still manage and make progress in his regular administrative work, the source said.
“He has his own backup team and a lot of powerful connections,” the source said.

A FORMER Revenue Department chief will face an indictment for alleged irregularities in connection with a Bt4.3-billion value-added tax (VAT) refund scam while associated assets worth over Bt700 million may be confiscated by the state.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) concluded that Satit Rungkasiri was “unusually wealthy” while serving as the Revenue Department director-general during 2011-2013, according to NACC secretary-general Sansern Poljieak.
The agency also found that assets belonging to Satit, his spouse, children, a firm called Siri-karnjana Co and one unnamed person worth more than Bt700 million were ill-gotten in connection with the alleged tax-refund scam.
The NACC requested that the Attorney-General’s Office sue him in the Criminal Court for alleged corruption and misconduct so the unreported assets could be seized. According to the NACC subcommittee headed by Supa Piyachitti, the list of ill-gotten assets included bank accounts, plots of land, gold and vehicles.
Prominent examples included the purchase of gold bars worth Bt607 million under Satit’s name, of which Bt179 million worth had already been confiscated. Authorities only know about the remainder due to purchase receipts.
In addition, bank deposits worth Bt3.5 million and securities investments worth Bt435,100 under his spouse’s name, as well as bank deposits worth Bt5.7 million under his children’s names.
Other assets in his children’s names included investments in companies, stock-trading accounts and five land plots owned by his children in Nong Khai, Samut Prakarn and Nakorn Ratchasima worth a total of Bt22.5 million.

Decision made in October
Sansern said the agency resolved in late October to indict the former Revenue Department chief.
In August 2013, the Cabinet issued an order to remove Satit as the Revenue Department director-general due to alleged irregularities in refunding a massive amount of value-added taxes in a case involving exported scrap metal.
Satit was demoted to inspector general of the Finance Ministry.
In January this year, the Finance Ministry dismissed Satit, who was then serving as an inspector general, in connection with the corruption scandal.
Earlier, an investigation by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) uncovered alleged fraudulent tax refunds worth Bt4.3 billion that involved 38 entrepreneurs – Bt3.2 billion in Bangkok and Bt1.1 billion in Samut Prakan province.
The alleged scam led to one of the biggest corruption discoveries in the history of the Revenue Department, in which other top-level officials were involved. The scam reportedly involved irregularities in claiming tax refunds related to exporting scrap metal. Many fake companies were set up with addresses in unlikely business locations to get tax refunds using fake invoices, it was alleged.
The NACC alleged that Satit bought gold bars with the ill-gotten money he received from private companies involved in fraudulent tax refunds, according to a source.
His ownership of the gold bars was not mentioned in his financial report filed with the NACC, the source said.
Following more inquiries, the anti-graft agency recommended that the Office of Attorney-General proceed with the confiscation of Satit and his spouse’s assets as it was alleged they were acquired illegally.

‘Unusual wealth’ 

Purchase order of gold bullion worth Bt607 million
Bank deposit in his spouse’s name worth Bt3.75 million
Stocks in his spouse’s name worth Bt435,100
Bank deposits in his son’s name worth Bt5.7 million
Investment in six companies in his son’s name worth Bt15.73 million
Cash account for stock trading in his son’s name worth Bt7.67 million
Five plots of land located in Samut Prakan and Nakhon Ratchasima worth Bt22.55 million
Lexus car worth Bt1 million
Plot of land in Nakhon Ratchasima worth Bt46 million
Bank deposit in another person’s name worth Bt5.03 million

He said the plan to hold the next general election in 2017 remained intact, but he did not rule out factors that could lead to a delay.
“The situation changes by day and by month. If we can hold an election, we will. If an election cannot be held, why should we insist on holding one and then cause damage?” Prawit said.
Prawit, the deputy chief of the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said he did not presently see any factors that could result in changes to the “road map for a return to democracy”.
His remark came after speculation that the election, which is expected to take place late next year or early in 2018, will be put off following King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s passing.
Prawit said the government had not announced any changes to its road map, adding that the media was stirring up the issue.
Meanwhile, Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday that the writing of the 10 organic laws in line with the charter was advancing in line with the schedule set by the road map. But the election date would be determined by the Election Commission, he added.
He also said the organic law on political parties would result in substantial changes in the operation of parties, which would have to adapt accordingly. The election could not take place until parties had adopted the new rules, he said.
The CDC had initially given political parties 150 days to reorganise their membership systems, Meechai said, adding that if they fail to do so, the deadline could be extended by up to three years. However, parties would not be able to field candidates for the next election until the membership system changes are completed, he said.
“The law will lay out everything political parties must do and when to do it in order to adapt to the changes. However, the CDC will also soon listen to opinions from politicians to see whether the time given is sufficient or not, as well as how to adjust it,” the chief charter writer said.
In a related development, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was not worried about the road map because he saw that the government was still adhering to the plan.
However, he called on the NCPO to relax the post-coup ban on the assembly of political parties.
He said political parties also needed to work on policies that would help people, adding that |he could accept it if the junta still limits activities such as political speeches that could lead to |demonstrations.

Narissarawan Kaewnopparat, 25, said she believed she had been subjected to unfair treatment for speaking up against her uncle’s alleged attackers.
Narissawran’s uncle, Private Wichien Pheuksom, was allegedly beaten to death during military training in Narathiwat province in 2011, at the age of 26 years old.
Narissawran has said she is trying to seek justice for her uncle. But after speaking up, she was arrested at her office at the Social Development and Human Security Ministry on July 26.
She was charged after one of the soldiers, Major Phuri Pheksophol, filed a defamation complaint against her.
“It’s unfair. Police arrested me without sending me a summons first. Had I received the summons, I would have answered to it,” Narissarawan said.
She lodged a complaint against nine policemen with the Crime Suppression Division yesterday. Of them, some are based at the Makkasan Police Station in Bangkok and some are based at the Muang Narathiwat Police Station in Narathiwat province.
“They should face legal action for their abuse of authority,” said Narissarawan, who is now out on bail.
She also said police had rushed to submit the case against her to public prosecutors.
While defending herself in the defamation case, Narissarawan has continued to seek justice for her uncle.
She also lodged a petition yesterday with the Royal Thai Army, urging it to suspend all the soldiers who were allegedly involved her uncle’s death.
The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), which has considered Wichien’s case, ruled that there were grounds to suspect that 10 soldiers could have been involved in the beating, which was reportedly meted out because Wichien tried to desert the Army.

The committee, which is led by Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon, met at the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning yesterday to discuss the issue of managing world heritage sites in Thailand.
On the agenda were seeking solutions to improve and regulate the Ayutthaya Historical Park in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco)’s suggestions and adding Phra That Phanom to a tentative list to be proposed as a new world heritage site in future.
Culture Minister Veera Rojpojanarat explained that the historical park in Ayutthaya had suffered a lot of damage from the 2011 flooding and had encountered numerous problems including improper repair of historical structures and unregulated expansion within the park. He said Unesco had raised many concerns about the management and regulation of the area.
“The main concern of regulating the historical park is that it is part of the city, so new regulations are required to restrict the construction of buildings in the area in terms of height, density and distance from historical sites,” Veera said.
“Unesco has provided us with six suggestions in improving the management of the Ayutthaya Historical Park and we are complying with the advice.”
The minister said Unesco’s key suggestions included the training of specialists to take care of the historical site, creating a new master plan to manage the park and relying on archaeologists for help.
As for repairing the damaged sites, he said the Fine Arts Department was working on fixing buildings that were improperly repaired after the 2011 floods.
All new repairs made to the Ayutthaya Historical Park will have to be reported to Unesco by next Thursday, so it can present the report at the 41st World Heritage Committee meeting next year.
As for nominating Phra That Phanom as a new world heritage site, Veera said the prominent pagoda in the Northeast has enough qualifications and can be added to the tentative list next year.
“The current Phra That Phanom pagoda is not original as the old one was destroyed in a storm 41 years ago, but we have observed that several world heritage sites such as the Sydney Opera House are also not very old,” he said.
“The pagoda meets the three qualifications set by Unesco, as it represents remarkable creativity of humanity, influences architectural development and has spiritual and historical importance.”
According to archaeological findings, Phra That Phanom dates back to before the 5th century, is 53 metres tall and was built following the traditional Lao architectural style, which has been used in many pagodas in the Northeast. It is deemed spiritually important by Buddhists in Thailand and Laos.

He said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had repeatedly maintained over the past year that the next election would be held in 2017, in line with the post-coup road map for a return to democracy.
However, Wissanu said “unforeseeable factors” could make it unlikely for a new administration to be formed within 2017, adding that it would take about two months for official election results to be announced after the vote. Under the new electoral system, a single ballot will be used for both constituency and party-list MPs, which would be unprecedented in Thailand.
“Due to the new voting and vote-count systems, the political party with the most votes will not be guaranteed to form the government. The one that fails to get the most votes may succeed,” the deputy premier said.
After the election results are announced, there will be a process concerning the opening of Parliament to select a new prime minister, he said.
“Please be fair to the government. The road map will be followed but there may be some factors that cannot be seen today. There could be some changes or adjustments. But today we insist there will be election in 2017,” Wissanu said.
He was speaking at the event “Thailand: New Economic Landscape” on the topic “Royal Leadership Virtues: Guidance for the People and the State”, which was organised at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
Wissanu also said the country would experience a number of major changes next year, adding that the promulgation of the new constitution would happen soon although he could not say at this point when that would happen.
The 10 organic bills required by the new charter must be completed within eight months after the charter is promulgated, with the first four being the key organic bills concerning political parties, the election of MPs, selection of senators and the Election Commission. Once the organic laws are completed, he said, the government would be able to announce a general election within five months without further delay.
“That’s why the prime minister has determined the road map. It’s not wishy-washy,” said Wissanu.

Norachit spoke after CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said earlier yesterday that the bill should have been released today.
The spokesperson said this was because some issues still had to be amended, such as regulations on party membership registration, ceiling on party funding and asset declaration as well as penalties against the violation of these regulations, he said.
However, the spokesperson insisted that the 124-article bill will not force parties to re-register, meaning current party executives will continue holding their positions. Yet, some changes may still be done based on the soon-to-be-promulgated charter.
Once completed, the draft will be made public via the CDC website, Norachit said.
The CDC will also hear comments from the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) for any possible amendments before it sends the final draft to the NLA for further process as designated by the new charter.
According to the government’s latest timeline, the CDC should complete the drafting of 10 essential organic laws within eight months after the charter draft is released and the laws should receive royal endorsement by February.
Top priority has been placed on four organic laws, namely the ones on political parties, election, source of the Senate and the Election Commission. The are expected to be written by the CDC and delivered to the NLA for deliberation six months after the charter goes into effect.
The next general election should be held 150 days after these four laws have been enacted.
According to the charter drafters, changes made to this most recent bill will lessen dominating influences on parties and hence ensure greater participation.