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Samak Sundaravej wants 1,700 slums relocated and turned into green zones with public parks.

However, National Human Rights Commission member Aporn Wongsang said the idea was "anti-poor" and dangerous and needed to be condemned as it hurt poor people.

"Bangkok has had slums for a long time. We shouldn't relocate them but find a suitable place for the people to live. I've never seen any national leader with a view like this, a view which is anti-poor, treating poor people as if they had no value, thinking that they can be evicted at will. This is very dangerous," said the commissioner.

Slum leader Samlee Srilapuk from Bangkok's Yen Akart community said she had "wasted" her vote casting it for People Power, which made Samak prime minister. Samlee insisted the urban poor had a role to play in developing the city.

Samlee encouraged the urban poor to oppose the plan in a "top-down" fashion. She added that many areas in Bangkok that were not slums should be converted to public parks and green areas instead.

 She warned that Samak's mentality was only turning the urban poor into his enemy.

 Thammasat University anthropologist and sociologist Pathomrerk Ketutat condemned the idea as "horrible" and said Samak had this mentality long ago, dating back to his time as Bangkok governor.

 Pathomrerk said Samak's plan reflected a lack of understanding that the city needed cheap labour and poor workers helped the middle classes cope.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva asked if Samak had any plan to assist those he would relocate.

Abhisit said it would be acceptable if those relocated could find jobs and had adequate housing.