Credit where it's due
As a long-time resident of Bangkok, I think Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is doing a great job and I hope he stays on for a long time.
Since his tenure began I have noticed many positive changes at street level, such as newly unobstructed footpaths, not to mention unblocked roads. Aside from going after the corrupt big fish, Khun Prayut is right to also address the less significant but annoying problems. Bringing order to the chaotic lottery system and invoking Article 44 of the interim constitution to crack down on street racers is a good move. In doing so he is taking a page from former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Back in the ’90s Rudy went after the “squeegee men” who harassed drivers at stoplights. He rightly understood that eliminating these everyday annoyances would improve the quality of life and help reduce serious crimes. This is the “broken windows” theory of crime prevention – preventing small crimes fosters a general atmosphere of lawfulness and pride in one’s community. Next on Phi Tu’s agenda should be the litterbugs and the pavement motorcyclists.
