This is my message to Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra who is being challenged by a Bangkokian through www.change.org to either take public transport or use his bike to commute. The person who issued the challenge has urged the governor to use public facilities such as pedestrian flyovers to gain first-hand experience of how hard it is to survive on Bangkok streets.
A netizen named Nakorn Sanchornchon made the online challenge on the Bangkok Car Free day on Sept 21. About 6,000 netizens signed up to show their support for the campaign. When completed, the petition will be handed over to the governor.
The rest is up to him.
"If public transportation does not suit the governor, it will not suit people in Bangkok," Mr Nakorn said.
However, there has been no word from MR Sukhumbhand nor his team since the challenge was made. Well, that is understandable. The challenge is quite a tough one.
Another reason for him to remain silent is, perhaps, the requirement would force him to be a copycat of former transport minister Chadchart Sittipunt who made several high-profile trips on public transport as well as on his bicycle.
His instruction to ministry officials to take public transport once a month made people like him even more. However, now that Mr Chadchart has left his position, his instruction must now be null and void.
It's true that what Mr Chadchart did might have been just a PR stunt. But it was a good, efficient one. Every newspaper ran his photos and colourful stories. His popularity rating skyrocketed.
The fact is though that Mr Chadchart hardly made any achievements — not solid ones in improving public transport. Train services are still as bad as ever. Two trains have derailed this week.
But when MR Sukhumbhand faced a political crisis with a possibility of being slapped with a political ban, people thought of Mr Chadchart as a good choice to run for Bangkok governor.
I know it's really not fair to place all the blame on the governor for the poor transport system. He does not really have jurisdiction over public buses which come under the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority ... but for bikes, it's another story.
The governor has made promises that he needs to fulfil.
But at this moment, it would be good for MR Sukhumbhand to be a copycat and try to regain his popularity.
He should know there is heavy traffic congestion every time rain hits the city (and he should count his blessings that it's a relatively dry year) which is why his popularity rate is nose-diving.
With regard to the challenge, I don't think people expect the governor to abandon his limo entirely to switch to a bus. But one day a month would put him in a better position.
It would be good for people in Bangkok as a whole.
At least, he would knows their frustrations and push for possible measures to alleviate them.
What Bangkokians need from their governor now is someone they think shares their problems. Former governor Bhichit Rattakul might know best. There were many floods during his tenure, yet he survived politically by turning up at the trouble spots, side by side with city officials.
MR Sukhumbhand must accept the hard fact that he has benefited more or less from the yellow versus red politics. A large number of Bangkok voters picked him in the 2013 elections merely because they hated his political rival; rather than because they liked him — in particular for his second tenure.
He should not forget that his long leave of absence almost makes him a forgotten governor. Unless he makes real changes, it could be a political disaster for him.
Mark my words, if the National Council for Peace and Order can end the colour-coded political divide, the governor, his successor as well as the Democrats will really feel the heat.
By the way, those who want change should join the campaign, through this link: http://goo.gl/tvqMo0
Ploenpote Atthakor is deputy editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.