Review Pol Colonel Thithat's transfer
Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, in charge of police, should have been delighted, not rattled, when police and local leaders protested the move of a high-ranking police officer out of Nakhon Phanom and into an inactive post.
Officers from various police stations submitted a list of names of police, military officials, kamnan and village heads who opposed the reassignment of Pol Colonel Thithat Imthua, deputy provincial police chief, with one placard reading, “Nakhon Phanom police who crack down on drugs and illegal logging get transferred.”
Police should report to, and be accountable to, the localities which they are sworn to serve and protect – not the mandarins of Bangkok. The people of, say, Nakhon Phanom, Chiang Mai or Narathiwat know their local problems and how effectively the police in their province are working far better than somebody in Bangkok – for the problems of each region are far different from one another.
Thus, when Chalerm sees people willing to stand up to his dragon’s wrath for their provincial police, he should be overjoyed at having found an officer who may well be outstanding. He should immediately investigate if the populace’s apparent strong support is warranted, and, if so, promptly recognise the officer in question. He would do well to listen to Harold Geneen: “A true leader has to have a genuine open-door policy so that his people are not afraid to approach him for any reason.”
Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm, review Pol Colonel Thithat’s transfer now, please.
Burin Kantabutra
