Crisis response split by FROC-BMA rows
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No doubt the present crisis has many lessons to teach us but one that is already obvious is that in the future the responsibility for flood management in Bangkok must be held by the national government.
Forget about the current personalities involved, the principle must be that effective crisis response requires a unified command structure that can look at the big picture and balance different areas’ conflicting needs.
Just as you cannot have an army with two commanders, or a football team with two managers, you cannot manage a major crisis with the national government and the Bangkok city administration at odds. Nor would it make any difference if the national government and the city administration came from the same party. They would still have conflicting objectives – the one to do what is best for the country, the other to save Bangkok at all costs.
In the event of a major crisis, the national government should assume responsibility for the entire country and the governor of Bangkok should step back and keep quiet. Of course he should be free to warn and advise the government but only in private. In public he should either support the national command, or, if he is unable to do so, keep quiet until the crisis has passed and then make his feelings public.
Dom Dunn
Krabi
