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Published on March 14, 2008

But it is also a huge gamble for him whether he will escape unscathed from the investigation.

The Assets Examination Committee on Wednesday charged six people, including Apirak, over irregularities in the purchase of fire trucks for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The first benefit the Democrats got from Apirak's decision is that it increases the pressure on Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, as well as ministers in his government who are also under investigation, to step aside as the probe progresses.

Samak has also been indicted in the same case, as he was the former Bangkok governor who signed the contract for the fire truck purchase.

Meanwhile, three ministers in his government have recently been pressured to take  leave of absence after the Assets Examination Committee indicted them - as members of the entire Thaksin Shinawatra Cabinet - that issued a resolution to establish the two-and three-digit lotteries.

Apirak's decision will give a boost to the standard of political morality both in Bangkok and nationally. Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva quickly acclaimed Apirak's decision as being typical of the Democrat conscience. But for Apirak himself, his future is now hanging by a thread.

Looking on the bright side, Apirak might be making a wise move, since he only has six months left in his term of office. Moreover, if he can overcome the charges and clear his name with the Assets Examination Committee's panel before the Bangkok gubernatorial election, he will emerge with much credit and greater popularity with the public.

At the same time he could  finally lay to rest allegations of being a "favourite son" of the AEC and a "coup-maker" who supported the  Council for National Security.

But if he cannot beat the charges, the legal process could take a long time. The examination panel must pass on its decision to the AEC on whether to submit the case to the Attorney General, then to the court. For him, the election would be finished before the case was closed.

Even with the standards he has set, he would not be able to run in the election. And without a political post, the question follows of where he would be left in the Democrat Party hierarchy.

Apirak's term as Bangkok Governor will end in August, and the election is expected to take place in September. The legal process over the fire-truck scandal could be a long one, so Apirak must think hard about how it will affect his political career and where it will leave him.

Apirak's career path has not been rosy since the beginning. When the businessman ran in the Bangkok gubernatorial election under the Democrat banner in 2004, he had no group support within the party. But after his surprise victory, he gained a deputy leader's post the following April.

Not only has the party failed to give immediate support to Apirak, but it has also pushed for the probe into the scandal. The move by Democrat, Yuthapong Charasathien to push for the scrutiny has caused problems for Apirak. Despite requests to revise the fire-truck contract, Apirak eventually signed the Letter of Credit, confirming the procurement contract. With party in-fighting, rumours of wider conflict within the Democrats, and Apirak being labelled an "outsider", discord went so far that Apirak was said to be planning to run as an independent in the election, or under another group's banner.

But Apirak denied the reports and stayed with the party. The Democrats paid attention to Apirak during the December 2007 election, which the Democrats won convincingly in Bangkok despite the rival People Power Party questioning Apirak's contribution and that the result was against the poll it (PPP) had conducted earlier.

The Bangkok victory has boosted Apirak's status in the party. After all, he holds a strong political base in the capital. He won the governor's seat with more than 900,000 votes.

If Apirak gets off the hook, he has a bright future in politics. But now that the legal process is underway, there are many steps still to take, and we can only wait for the outcome.

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation