BANGKOK, 19 August 2012 (INN) - The Suan Dusit Poll, conducted by Rajabhat Suan Dusit University, surveyed 1,157 citizens from August 15 to 18, for their opinions on the just-concluded parliamentary debate on the national budget for 2013.
The poll showed that 38.46% of the respondents found the live-broadcast debate useful in helping them learn about what the government would do next year to aid citizens, while 46.15% said it made them aware of where the projected fund would go to, and whether it would be useful to citizens. 42.32% were uncertain if the discussion was beneficial or not, stating they would have to wait and see the achievements that would occur next year.
The poll also found that 48.23% became convinced that it was the government’s duty to answer questions in Parliament to make the opposition and citizens become clear on the issues; 39.08% stated they came to realize that it was the opposition’s responsibility to inspect the government’s work and transparency. Furthermore, 40.20% were satisfied with the handling of time allotted for the budgetary discussion, but 59.54% were dissatisfied with the discussion as there were a lot of protests and verbal exchanges between MPs of both sides.
The survey also found that 64.11% felt negative with the result of the debate as both the government and the opposition were still in conflict after the consideration, and the budget drafting also seemed to be connected with political power and interests.
-- NNT 2012-08-19
