Majority of Thais doubt motives of petitioners after Srisuwan arrest
The arrest of activist Srisuwan Janya last month has apparently shaken public faith in petitioners, an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration found.
NIDA Poll on Sunday released the results of its opinion survey carried out from January 30 to February 1 among 1,310 random respondents nationwide.
The survey was carried out after prolific petitioner Srisuwan was arrested along with a few alleged accomplices for allegedly trying to extort 1.5 million baht from Rice Department chief Natthakit Khongthip in exchange for not filing complaints against suspicious projects at the department.
Asked how they think about well-known petitioners now in the news, the respondents replied (More than one answer can be given):
48.55%: They may have ulterior motives.
28.85%: They seek to find truth for the society.
25.65%: Certain petitioners sought publicity.
20.76%: Certain petitioners were trying to build up their own clout.
20.08%: Petitions were a kind of political activities.
19.31%: Petitions were a kind of profession.
17.33%: Petitions were a method of checks and balances by the civil society.
15.50%: Petitions should serve to warn state agencies, state officials, politicians and political parties to be more cautious in their works.
15.19%: Petitions helped state agencies concerned to start their own investigations after ignoring the issues.
8.47%: State agencies concerned failed to proactive prevent irregularities, leading to petitions
7.10%: No comment.
