Apirak eyeing a second term

Although the multibillion-baht fire-truck scandal continues to haunt him, Apirak's chances of being re-elected in the upcoming gubernatorial election remain high.

In an Abac poll conducted earlier this month among 2,186 eligible voters in Bangkok, 40.2 per cent of respondents said that they planned to vote for Apirak.

In 2005, Apirak ran in the gubernatorial election under the Democrat Party's banner and won with some 900,000 votes.

Apirak yesterday thanked all Bangkokians for their support. He will officially remain governor until August 28, and will run in the upcoming gubernatorial election as the Democrat candidate.

"I hope you will remember me as a dedicated Bangkok governor, someone who has shared the happiness and gloom of Bangkok residents," Apirak said.

For most of next week, Apirak will be with his son in the US, where the boy will enrol in university.

Apirak's resignation as Bangkok governor will take effect on August 29, relieving him of his duties until the gubernatorial-election process is completed.

Apirak, 47, needs time for his election campaign. The gubernatorial race will take place in October and many prominent figures are vying for the city's top job.

Among them are former Chart Thai deputy leader Chuwit Kamolvisit and famous TV celebrity ML Nattakorn Devakula.

Although Chuwit's relationship with coalition member Chart Thai has soured, the massage-parlour-tycoon-turned-politician's chances should not be underestimated.

The outspoken Chuwit already surprised a number of people when he won up to 600,000 votes in the last gubernatorial race. At that time, he was a completely new face in politics.

Nattakorn - a son of former finance minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula - is also quite popular. He has hosted many TV and radio programmes.

Strong opposition aside, Apirak will have to work hard to minimise any adverse impact from the fire-truck scandal.

Several investigations have concluded that the fire-trucks were vastly overpriced, putting Thailand at a disadvantage. Authorities are now checking whether the purchase contract can be cancelled.

Although the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) entered into the contract with an Austrian supplier at the time Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was governor, Apirak signed the letter of credit for the purchase.

That signature allowed the purchase contract to go into full effect, prompting the BMA and the central government to start making payments to the Austrian supplier.

Because some of the fire-trucks were already delivered to Thailand, at least four payment instalments were already made.

Each instalment was several hundred million baht.

As Bangkok governor, Apirak has yet to demonstrate what he will do to solve the problem arising from the deal.

Although the now-defunct Assets Examination Committee has not found Apirak guilty, the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) is also looking into the scandal.

Should the NCCC rule against Apirak, he might no longer be qualified to run in the upcoming gubernatorial race.

When asked about this scenario, Apirak says he would make a proper decision in response to the ruling.