How the world viewed the judgment

Simon Montlake said in the Christian Science Monitor on 26/02/10: “The verdict underscores the role of Thailand’s judiciary in adjudicating a deep-rooted political dispute that has paralyzed a longtime American ally in Asia. Since a 2006 coup that removed Thaksin, he and his allies have lost a string of important court cases, while his opponents have largely been spared.” Read more

แผนภาพกราฟเปรียบเทียบดัชนีตลาดหลักทรัพย์กับราคาหุ้นบริษัทชินคอร์ปฯ

แผนภาพกราฟเปรียบเทียบดัชนีตลาดหลักทรัพย์กับราคาหุ้นบริษัทชินคอร์ปฯ

พ.ต.ท. ดร. ทักษิณ  ชินวัตร ดำรงตำแหน่งนายกรัฐมนตรีคนที่ 23 ตั้งแต่ 9 กุมภาพันธ์ 2544 – 19 กันยายน 2549 Read more

An Address of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

An Address of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Upon Hearing The Asset Case’s Result

Friday, February 26, 2010

Today has marked a history of Thailand’s justice system. The seized asset of more than 40,000 millions was done on a claim that I benefited from higher stock prices due to my being Prime Minister. The surplus was interpreted as wrongdoings, and was entirely seized. This must be a joke to the world. Stock rising as a result of my being Prime Minister? When stocks rise, the entire market does.

Does this resembles the dissolution of Thai Rak Thai Party? Court was used as a tool. Government was well-aware of the coming verdict. The flag pointer and the protector of this government are one same person. I foresaw this bashing. Only how. My conclusion at this point is: when the country’s economy improves, I receive no share. But when assets of my family increase, I am accused of cheating and my assets were seized. Fairly good that they return what was mine before the political years by using the price of stock even though it comes from the same amount of stock.

The whole stock market rises when it does. It is the country and global economic forces, not a result of my premiership. Other enterprises also benefit. Bangkok Bank, TPI, True, and PTT. This is most political. I put on a black suit today to mourn. I mourn my own stubbornness when I refused to listen to my wife and my children advising me not to enter politics. I want to serve my country. I feel the need to pay back my fellow citizens. Let me apologize to my family. Political life is real  tough. Let me be the very last victim of Thai politics. With true democracy, there will be no more victim.

Power rests with aristocrats, who constantly push the button. Law enforcement runs real fast with the opposite side. Serious lack of international standard. One person can yank the country backward. I wrote a dissertation on the Observation of the Rule of Law for my Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. But I receive no justice. I apologize to good judges who wish to uphold their institution, fearing it may all be destroyed. Because they want to get me, your institution was used for the purpose. I hope things start to get better after they did all they would to me.

I am a sensible person. If you don’t want me in politics, I will back down. I told His Majesty at one time I would not accept premiership. I announced most publicly in April 2006. Then the election was nullified, citing a laughable reason of voters having their backs outwardly. New election was set so far apart: December. They couldn’t wait so the coup it was. Prior to the coup, there were several attempts to assassinate me, which didn’t succeed. After the coup, this committee, comprised of my political enemies, was set up to make outrageous accusations of corruption. Now you can come to conclude that General Sondhi, the coup leader, was only a nominal leader. People’s Power Party won the election, to the aristocrats’ great disappointment. Prime Minister Samak was then gotten rid of. The party was also dissolved to get rid of another Prime Minister (Somchai Wongsawat).

Let me thank all of our supporters who adhere to my request not to show up during the case. You don’t want to be accused of doing all that for me. Let me face it alone. You can be angry, but with no violence. We must be patient and peace-oriented and continue to fight for democracy for future generations. For business people, do not enter politics. Business people are prone to get the job done. If you do that, my fate will be yours. If you really want to serve, sell everything before you step in.

I am the only Prime Minister who had been elected twice, consecutively. Let me say that all their accusations result from me performing my duties, systematically. I have no notion of cheating. Never thought of it. Never had a need to do so. And no need to be so greedy either. I put on one wrist watch at a time, not several. Why greedy? All charges of corruption were and are politically-motivated. My wife is a good teacher to our children. Never living in luxury. We no longer have to struggle. I just want to serve my country. I became the very first one whose personal assets were seized. If I had cheated, let me face death in 7-10 days. If I had not…let me cite this poem to you…

“This land bears witness.

We are student of great guru.

We do wrong, we deserve punishment.

We did not, but punished, may this sword be returned”.

I will continue to seek justice, wherever I am, in or out of the country. Today I receive no justice. Justice is to be sought. May the people judge. Look back at my years of service, not as one scene of a feature film. Look closely and you will see injustice lurking around. I will fight on peacefully. Future generations must be born to and in democracy, justice, and equality.

What has happened to me should be regarded as lessons for Thailand’s democratization. I appreciate all support and genuine concern. Again, I am sorry for my wife and my children.

Thank you very much.

ถอดความจากคำแถลงของ พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ ชินวัตร

คำแถลงของ พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ  ชินวัตร อดีตนายกรัฐมนตรี ภายหลังคำพิพากษาคดียึดทรัพย์ 7.6 หมื่นล้านบาท

ถอดความจากคำแถลงของ พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ  ชินวัตร อดีตนายกรัฐมนตรี

ภายหลังคำพิพากษาคดียึดทรัพย์ 7.6 หมื่นล้านบาท

วันศุกร์ที่ 26 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553

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A summary of Dr Thaksin Shinawatra’s defence in the Supreme Court in the case to confiscate his assets

Police Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra was charged with possession of extraordinary wealth. The Attorney-General accused him of acquiring such wealth by malpractice. He claimed that Dr Thaksin used his position as Prime Minister to issue orders and regulations to favor Shin Corporation.  So, the Attorney-General submitted, all the money that Dr Thaksin received from selling his shares in Shin Corp was extraordinary wealth and illegal. He requested the court to confiscate Bt76,622 million.

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I Built My Life Chapter 2

“I Built My Life”

by Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra (Prime Minister of Thailand, 2001-2006)

Chapter 2 (Tuesday, February 2, 2010)

Let me return to my life story. People who have listened say that the stories permit them to see how a life is fought. Not so different from now. How did I transform my life from a tiny firm to a public company, with so little money in hand? Well, with some brain and knowledge, we connected with people and walked…

My life was changed from silk and movie businesses…into computer sales. Khunying (Potjaman), my wife, told me to make use of my knowledge. There was a market opportunity for computer sales. “You go ahead”, she said. “I will take care of the money problems”. The interest rate at the time was as high as 3% to 4.2% per year. We fought together all along.

No personal or micro computer was present at the time. Only Membrane available at the size of a small bedroom, and its capacity at only 1 Megabyte. There was no Nanotechnology. Miniaturization was not conceivable. A huge machine with only 1 Meg. or half that (512k) cost millions. Up to 7, 8, 10 millions. So expensive. Nowadays, one with much more capacity costs only 100,000. See how fast technologies have advanced. They are so fast-changing but some people are still stuck in their out-of-date thoughts.

It was a time when IBM was God. Everyone else was miles away. Only Membrane, too, and nothing else. Their mimi-computer cost 2-3 millions, and in no way to compete with today’s regular PC. Today’s PCs are much smarter. So is Blackberry. It was a time when large-sized computers ruled. Disc had to be taken with you. Only 70k, you had to carry such weight. A little larger later, 256k or something. 70k and cost a million Baht a piece. Today you can buy 8 Gig. 32 Gig. and you spend only thousands. What a change.

IBM at the time insisted on using their standard contract for any buyers. It was what they called “World-Wide Policy”. In Thailand, the government contract was also insisted. It was a legal document approved by the Office of the Attorney-General (Public Prosecutor). The talks went nowhere. IBM started to lose its sales to other competitors. There were several, then, and they sold. Everyone else lived with the government contract. IBM didn’t.

That was how IBM and I met. They asked to see me and sought my advice. I was some kind of a trouble shooter at the time. IBM finally came up with a new policy of selling their products to the third party, and the third party, contracted with IBM, can do whatever they wanted with those things. I asked them about after-sales services. They said they would do the same, so the customers wouldn’t feel the difference. IBM would not be responsible with any lawsuits at the time. That was how hard and inflexible of the big player of the day.

IBM was lost in its competitiveness because of the narrow mindedness. It was in the business of the 21st Century, but the mindset was back in the 20th Century. IBM at the time was really the giant. With labs and the scientists. They didn’t realize that the shut-in policy, forcing everybody to abide by IBM’s rules and copyrights, was the contributing factor for the excluded ones to join hands. You set IBM apart and separated, and it was attacked in all directions. IBM became weaker. See? From a giant to a weak one. Finally, Chairman of Massbridge, the bread seller, was made IBM’s top boss. IBM admitted to the loss and to the fact that only big clients could not possibly help them. PC was born and growing fast. IBM must make big sales. A salesman was needed. IBM was gradually in a better market position. This proved the danger of adapting too slow. Even IBM was on the brink. See, this is the importance of one’s adaptation to a new situation.

Back to the point. IBM asked if I was interested in being the third party for them. That meant to buy IBM products and to re-sell or rent them to government agencies, with added values. The deal was called a turn-key. We would do wiring, setting up ACs, and all heavy duties IBM wouldn’t do. I was indeed interested. But with no money, how? A package cost us 10, 15, 20, 100 millions. The one for the military’s Supreme Command alone was more than 100 million. No money to advance. How to do? I decided to exercise a method which is called today as future incomes. I talked to the banks, explaining to them how secure my deals were. Government agencies were solid and reliable. They would pay rent and service fee. The banks inquired about IBM taking of the after-sales services. I said yes. They asked about if there was a fire. I bought insurance. They asked again, this time most heavily, what if I died? I told them I would sign for stock transfer. If I die, they own it. The banks said it was not the stocks that they wanted. They didn’t know how to do the job. It was me who knew how. How would they get the money back? I finally had to buy them a life insurance on myself.

That turned out to be almost 200 million Baht for loans. Several bank accounts. I won a lot of contracts. I had to complete the goal of 200-million insurance coverage, to be sure I could pay it off if I died. Insurance companies were all connected. They all knew who took out from whom and for how much. They all feared a suicide. I could, to the best of my ability, sought a little over 50 million. Mr. Utain Techapaibul, one of the richest men back then, took out less than that. I did my best. The banks finally gave in, saying that I had proven my self-determination.

I used the bank loans to have the machines installed and collected money right after. However, collecting from government agencies took time. After installation, there must be inspected and approved. The process sometimes took several months, at least 5-6 months. We already paid the bank and couldn’t collect from the clients. Banks required the interest payment. I was then exchanging cheques as I wanted a larger business to pay back the past defunct ones and to enhance my credit.

I finally had concluded my deal with the banks. Entered my first bidding with not so much money involved. Bidding was not so costly at the time. But it took a lot money to put down once you got the concession. Bank guarantee was needed. One day, a guarantee of 10 millions was required. I had no collateral. I told you that I still had no home after coming back from the US and we stayed at my father-in-law’s. Nothing to put down. Coincidentally, I met a friend who traded lands. He had in his possession some idle lands. I asked him to help by putting down his land for a bank guarantee. Money wouldn’t be spent. It was only for guaranteeing. When I had some money, I would take it back. This kind friend of mine agreed to help.

It took a lot to obtain that particular bank guarantee. I remembered it well. This one deal was with the Railway Authority of Thailand. The committee members were already present in the room, but the bank guarantee hadn’t arrived. I spent a lot of time discussing with the friend, processing the mortgage, going through the measuring of the land, locating the loan clerk who went out to lunch. So much to do in order to get it. Here what we had to fight through.

The Railway Authority deal, after all, was tough. The rent of over 200,000 Baht per month, bank payments, costs of maintenance to IBM, insurance fees concluded and I was left with 30-40 Baht. How would we pay salaries of 30,000-40,000 Baht? I had to march ahead and seek several more deals. We won 8 concessions that same year. Over 200 millions at each place. After all expenses, 400,000-500,000 was left. Not enough to pay for debts. Only interests were afforded. We actually did a very good job of selling. 8 deals a year was not bad. But it was not enough. I was consumed with worries, not knowing where to turn. I had several failures to my record.

Then there were some Americans coming my way. An American phone company, based in San Francisco, signed a contract with the Telephone Authority of Thailand or TOT. TOT at the time opened bidding for phone-line centers. It would take a lot of money to venture. Anyway, we lost it.

Entered communication business. I wanted to develop a business of paging. At that time, a pager actually voiced out of the machine. Real radio it was. That was why it was called radio pager. It would say, “please call back so and so number”, loud enough for all your friends to hear.

Later, the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) said that the technology was out of date. They wanted a digital one, with numbers or message in English alphabets as no Thai was then available. They opened a bidding for it. If memory serves me right, CAT earned yearly 200 millions from the paging business. I and my partners teamed up and won the concession. Our offer was slightly over 470 millions. The business went well. But I became conflicted with Pacific with its American style of wanting all control, though we were a larger stockholder. I concluded that it wouldn’t work out. My stocks were sold with not so much in return.

Out of the blue, a Singaporean firm approached me on a paging deal with the Telephone Authority of Thailand or TOT. I entered the race. The then famous Packlink offered 1,400. I 1,300. Packlink people asked me how I would do it. They predicted my failure. I expressed confidence. Right after that, I was off to technology trade fairs around the world. Switzerland’s Geneva, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore. Without so much money, I had to travel Business Class to preserve good image for my counterparts, as Economy not so impressive and First Class unattainable. Hotels were of good class for the same reason. With high costs like this, we finally discovered a superior technology to beat Packlink and to enjoy more earning than the 1,300 cost.

In the meantime, before Phonelink produced some profits and during the red, I struggled for some new ways to do business. I discovered and finally hired a group of new graduates, who taught me a lot of new technologies. They developed a circuit for pagers in which you pushed one button at the center and it went to thousands and thousands, even millions of the machines. The question was: how to make the little personal machines to call back to the center. That was the task. I went ahead to launch a project called SOS, which called out to ambulances, police, and alarm systems. We developed it here at our Ratchawat office and had a factory built them. It proved to be ahead of its time. Our technology was not strong enough. I was again in red. Nothing was substantiated. Selling computers brought in too little profit. Not enough for our debts. Packlink was sold out because of the conflict. Simple trading was not enough for me. I figured out how to be sustainable long enough to enter the stock market. I came up with SOS, but it was not popular.

Someone told me again about a technology. At the time radio frequencies were all fully booked and there was more demand. They didn’t know where to go. There was a suggestion about this new technology of small radio stations attached to large stations. I decided to do it on public buses. A big investment indeed. Finally, we found out that this didn’t fit with moving vehicles. It was like a scientific project. Testing. Risking. At the end it didn’t work out because the buses moved. With buildings blocking the signal and thin signalling, sometimes 5%, at times, music on it proved more annoying than entertaining.

Radio operators in Thailand were not highly disciplined. Around the world it was agreed that one’s broadcasting was not to exceed 80%. The Thais went for 120%. That killed our in-between signal. Failed again.

My period of failure now was lengthening. Starting to suffocate, I talked to Phonelink and got interested in the business of mobile phones. When it got to action, someone in our company had discreetly convinced my wife not to do enter the business. I was worried, having failed in so many projects. Old debts still persisted. Family owed money, too. I decided to do it secretly. I went abroad and started laying ground for mobile-phone business.

While rolling the ball, I came back to Phonelink. When the numbers started to show some prospect, I came clean with my wife. I told her we needed this business. Our manager didn’t realize there were more debts. Out of Phonelink, we got immediately into mobile phone or AIS today.

A lot of trips abroad. International negotiations. Dealing with foreigners produced fruitful results for me.

That got me into telecommunications. It was and is a high-cost business investment. Overseas funding was always sought out. How to do this without being dominated or taken over? They had more money. Better technologies. A big homework indeed. I can’t tell all at this time. I will tell next time how I managed technology to prevent foreign domination. What to do when you had no money and a business that required thousands of millions of Baht? How to raise fund? How to pay back your debts and to be left with hundreds of millions in cash? How to make the first one hundred millions? A thousand millions? A ten-thousand millions? I had done all this in steps.

A story here. During my entrance to telecommunications, I read a book by Andrew Grove, the founder of Intel, whose microprocessor was put in every PC. He wrote that he had a board of directors full of decent people. One day, he proposed that Intel stopped the business of semi-conductor completely and focused on one particular business with advanced research and all. The entire board raised objection, reasoning that it was still good. But Grove saw it through. He knew that semi-conductor were easy to be imitated. Full of competitors. Marginal profitting. He insisted on focusing into CPUs of Intel chips’ processors. And he did. Several models were developed.

Andrew Grove finally had the whole board dismissed. They were good people but lacking of vision and behind the global trend. He replaced them all. Newcomers were not so astute but in better understanding of how it went and went along. In my case, the top manager tendered a resignation, so upset that I didn’t buy into his idea. This man asked to be put back later. We must think all the time. We must match current incomes and debts. I lost a manager the same way Andrew Grove lost his entire board.

Grove wrote the books called “During the Crisis” and “Only the Paranoid Survives”. He pointed out that one must be aware of his competitors all the time. How would they come? Where would they go? How would they set a trap? How would we? How to flee? How to advance? One must be meticulous indeed. That was Andrew Grove’s thinking. I found myself in the world of telecommunications.

All this is with absolutely no cheating and corruption. I guarantee it. If I was to be a cheater as alleged, I wouldn’t have come this far. Our success came through hard works and tough fights, based on lessons and past mistakes. I would not and will not betray a person to reach higher, and another person to reach even higher. Not me. My success was and is based upon knowledge.

That was how and why I and my family had more than 70,000 millions. We fought hard together. I will tell you how to invest in big projects without money. How, without money, one could bring his company into the stock market? How stock prices keep raising to the point of being wealthy?

More stories to be told.

—————————————

Chapter 1

Shinawatra to give Ugandans Bursaries

Shinawatra to give Ugandans Bursaries

Democrats reject charter amendment

The 19-member executive board of the Democrat Party cast a crucial vote on 26/01/10 to reject the push by junior coalition parties for changes to the Constitution, according to The Nation.

I Built My Life

“I Built My Life”

by  Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra

Prime Minister of Thailand, 2001-2006

Chapter 1 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)

A lot of my self-appointed enemies are now working so hard in branding me a figure of corruption. Thai media in the likes of The Nation, The Manager Group, Naewna, Thaipost. All of them are busily doing “negative campaign” hoping to influence the court soon to judge me and my family of the seized 76,000 million Baht, which is the fruit of my life’s work. Influencing the court is indeed a violation of the court’s jurisdiction.  But they still do. That is precisely why I must ask you to allow me to use a portion of this show to tell you of my life struggle, as some people, especially those of the new generations, do not know what is true and what is pure fiction. They must know that I and my family have been wealthy long before our entrance to politics, and politics have never been a tool or a source of our wealth.

Such seizure, deemed “robbery” by some, is against all principles of ethics and morality. These people are in total lack of life principle. I may dislike someone intensely, but I have never gone after the person beyond these principles. Look what happens in the US. The government is financing in great amount the struggling financial and insurance corporations. One must look at the bright and gloomy sides to understand the overall. Have I been bad from day one, when I assumed Thailand’s premiership, to the very last? My premiership has absolutely nothing to claim credits for, hasn’t it? Our loan to Myanmar, to cite just one such accusation, is portrayed as my financing them so they could buy products sold to them by my family companies. How about those concessions they granted to PTT (Thailand’s Petroleum) along the years? Don’t they count as a merit to obtain such loan?

This is my way of explaining to all of you, the fair-minded international citizens, of the truth betrayed nowadays in Thailand. If you like it, I will consider expanding the show into 2 hours. It is not my self-advertising. Rather my life anecdotes. I will tell all. My colorful fights in my working life. Hope it help you in your own tough times right now.

I was born in the country, San Kamphaeng, Chiang Mai, away from what you would call an urban life. The nearest town was 13 kilometres away, with big trees on the 2 long road sides. My father had a motorcycle and struggled to make ends meet. At the age of 3-4, I started my memories of his and my mother’s hard works. He opened a small, country-style coffee corner. My mom woke up first, along with me, and boiled the water for dad. He would come down and start selling. By that time, my mom went to the open market for her business of selling clothes. Before she arrived, I would get there with a helper of hers. I was a little one so I sat in the frontal part of a wooden cart we used for clothes. I would just sit there, watching out for our products, till my mom showed up. I went back home and helped cleaning coffee glasses. Sometimes I did it on the stretch of my toes, as I was so small. This became my routine before going to school.

There was no such thing as kindergarten at the time. However, there was a volunteer at the Rongtham Temple by the name of “Kru Kwai” (Teacher Buffalo) from Uttradit. She was not highly-educated, but she was one superb teacher. Parents paid her 80 Baht per month to teach their children. I was a student of hers. She would give us an individual session. Interested students got a longer session. From basic Thai language to Mathematics. Kru Kwai was an excellent Math teacher. I learned plus, minus, times, divided. Pretty advanced for a child that age. I believe Kru Kwai was responsible for my progressive and interactive thinking process, which benefits me in later years.

My family helped here, too. Senior family members always challenged me, teasingly, to do Math. They would keep asking my all those Math puzzles until I was cornered. Math helps you think.

When I was in Grade 3, my dad changed from a coffee shop business to farming. My granny gave him a piece of land and he turned it into a fruit field. I learned a lot here. Dad was not highly-educated, but he was fond of new technologies. He went to Thammasat, which was then an open university much like Ramkhamheang  University today. I remember that our little coffee shop had a refrigerator. It was oil-generated. The only one in that area. The fridge attracted a lot of people. We sold soda water and my mom’s frozen foodstuffs. I helped them selling “Wanyen” or an ice stick with a bit of sweet syrup, one “Saleung” (one cent) a piece. Same as lottery results. One Saleung a sheet also. My dad grew oranges and bananas. I sold banana leaves (people used them as today’s plastic bags) and flowers attached on banana’s trunk. Money from that was used to buy food back home. I grew up all my life like this, making a living with hard works.

At the time I enrolled at Montford, which was and is a famous school. I was forced to repeat Grade 3 because the first 2 Shinawatra boys’ academic performance was so poor they thought the third one must be as bad.

My very first visit to Bangkok was when I was in Grade 4. A cousin bet me to obtain 80% or over on my academic report. The reward was to take me to Bangkok. I got 84%. I traveled to Bangkok with my granny and we stayed for 4 days. On the way, we stopped at Kao Sam Roi Yot (the Mountain of 300 Peaks), where my now well-publicized photograph among pineapples was taken. It was owned by my dad’s friend, who sold him tractors for our farm. With 400 Baht given by my granny, so much at the time, I bought some toys back home. One of them was roller-skate shoes, the wheel kind. We the kids played them at night when the road was empty. I played with these toys. I got into sports of every kind. We played all seasons, even when it rained.

Dad changed his work again. He was now a compradore of the Nakornluang Thai Bank. A compradore at the time screened loans giving out to the applicants. Eventually, he took over some troubled businesses from his clients. I remembered one called “Charoenchai”, a Honda motorcycle agent. I went everywhere to collect monthly payments from our clients, 100 Baht per month a piece. My life had always been close to people’s real life.      I understand them well. My study was also prospering. I didn’t spend so much time reading my textbooks. But I did my homework, and that helped me understand it even better. Dad got involved in several businesses this way. Then he was cheated by business partners. The family fortune started sinking. It was the beginning of our rough time. One of my dad’s helpers asked me to stop school and came to work full-time to revive the business. I told him no. “Money and properties can be earned back. But without knowledge, we will be lost”. Those were my words to him.

I attended the national military cadet school at the time, which took 2 years. Before getting accepted, I wasted the first year because of a health result. They declared I had a spot in my lung. It was later proven a shadow of a rip or bone. By that time, the family’s financial situation got worsened. After graduation, I received a salary of 1,300 Baht or so. I rented a small room around a Bangkok’s area of Kiak Kai at 300 Baht per month. There were a bed and a small closet and that was it. Toilet was pool with other renters. I had to place my Buddha image on top of the closet, which was the highest location in the room. I lived like that until I obtained a government scholarship for a Master’s Degree. My family could no longer support me financially.

I was in love when I was between Year 1 to 2.  Potjaman, who eventually became my beloved wife, and I started our relationship since then. A few years before my graduation, she went abroad for language study. I was tempted to come with her. At the time I was first in my police-cadet class and student leader. I chose police because no Shinawatra was in the police force before. We were present in the Army and the Air Force. Navy was never a choice for a boy from the mountainous north, since he was hardly a good swimmer. Now, this police-cadet scholar wanted to further his study in the US.

It was my desire to go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I got accepted. But the government salary of a scholar at $160 a month couldn’t allow it. I went instead to another institution. My mom gave another $1,000 of the family’s hard-earned money. As a young man, I had needs and wanted more money. Wanting a sporting car, Free Bird, I took an extra job at KFC, selling fried chicken. My senior Thai friends, Chidchai (Wanasatidya, later a Ph.D., Drugs Suppression Chief, Deputy Police Commander, and Deputy Prime Minister) and Wichianchot (Sukchotrat, later a Ph.D., Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Justice Ministry and Government Spokesman) all worked. Chidchai was at UPS, doing the hard labor of loading boxes and all. Wichinchot waited tables at a hotel and he asked me to join him. I did. Eventually, I was also working in the hotel’s breakfast kitchen since I loved cooking. With little extra money, Potjaman soon joined me. We went out sometimes. My Master’s Degree took 1 year and 4 months to complete. It was longer than I should because I decided not to take summer courses but rather took a long drive around the US. Anyway, I was a straight A student.  A in all courses.

I returned to Thailand alone because my love was still pursuing her degree. My rank was adjusted based on the new degree into Police Captain, with 1,800 Baht per month. Soon Potjaman came back and we were married. We had no home of our own. Not enough money for that. We then stayed with my wife’s parents until we decided that I should pursue my Ph.D. in the US. We returned to the US. I went to school. She didn’t.  As fate would have it, I was away from Thailand at the times of our two major political riots: October 14 of 1973 and October 6, 1976. I only got news from here and there about what had happened. Even the May Incident of 1992, I was again out of the country.

The life of Bangkok Bank’s founder, the billionaire Chin Sophonpanich, inspired me to enrich myself in business. “If a person with only Grade 4 of educational background can do it,” I said to myself and my wife. “I as a Ph.D. pursuer must be able to earn some 100 million Baht in life”. We went to the US this time with that determination. Remember that my family, all 9 brothers and sisters, were all poor. My youngest sister Yingluck, currently Chairman of SC Asset PLC., was only 9 years old. My father-in-law, who was then Commander of Bangkok Police’s Southern Area, contributed $100 a month for us. I combined it with $90, my police salary at home, and went off. My wife found a babysitting job for small children and a sales clerk at a department store. I studied hard, and also worked. My job was to fold newspaper and deliver them to home. Sometimes I missed out and had to recollect them. Some vicious dogs chased me with vengeance. Finally, a doctorate degree was obtained after 2 years and 8 months. My oldest son Oak was born in the US. When we carried him back with us, he was barely 5 months old.

We had 2 cars in the US: my left-steering wheel Mercedes Benz and my wife’s Volvo. The Volvo was sold as we wanted to keep the Mercedes. The problem was we couldn’t afford the tax. Our entire saving at the time was 200,000 Baht, but the tax was posted at 400,000 Baht. A loan was sought. We returned again to the home of my wife’s parents, who has 4 children. My wife and I was given a room. The others had to share. Every morning I went through every page of Bangkok Post’s Classified. I was so preoccupied with an extra income or more. I almost took a job as English instructor, somewhere in Nanglerng, and a job as Night Manager of a hotel. What choice did I have? No investment money. No network of friends in business. My wife’s family background was also governmental. No connection to business world, whatsoever. I built myself up one step at a time.

My family has had a silk business. We obtained some commodities without having to pay first. But we needed to open a shop. I joined a business group whose 5 members invested 10,000 Baht each. We took turn taking the whole sum of 50,000 Baht for business use.  This was how I got started. I paid the rent to General Witoon Yasawat, who owned a hotel called Trocadero, where my rental shop was. My wife with our little boy baby went to the store everyday. Business was not good. We ended having boiled eggs for dinner everyday. Without the burden of payment for silk products, we were still in the red. I told my wife to mind the store and went out looking for other ways to survive.

Came another month, I found myself at a leading Thai film production company: Five Stars Production. My friend, Kiat Iamphungphorn, suggested that I purchased the right of his film to show at the cinema of the northern territory. The movie in question was one of the most popular ones: Ban Saithong (“The Saithong House”). The main female character was Potjaman, who bore my wife’s name. I thought of it as a good sign. Director Ruj Ronapop was also in support. So was Pracha Maleenont, Channel 3’s owner, whose friendship with me started there. We agreed. But the right fee was 1 million Baht, which I didn’t have. The Mercedes was put as a collateral so we had enough money to pay. Looking back, it was so risky.

The risk paid off. Within 1 month, we earned back one million Baht. The Mercedes returned to be ours. Another month was another 1.3 million, which was pure profit for me. It was the first time we touched upon that kind of sum. I went on to another film “Yod Talok” (“Super Funny”), played by Den Dokpradoo. This time, 300,000 Baht in profit. We went on to buy a house of our own. My wife asked to have a house in Chokechai 4, Ladprao, which belonged to my father-in-law. She got her wish. We then spent some money preparing the house and moved in for 6 years. This was where several businesses were conceived. My second baby girl was born here. With more success, we moved to a new house in Bangplad. Heard that a man came digging at the Ladprao house which was shut down. He claimed to get some dirt of a successful house to put among his own at a factory, so he too could be rich. Later, the movie business was in decline. Some were in red. My wife advised me to start a business which would rely on my own knowledge, instead of taking risks.

I was again in financial troubles. Bounced cheques started to appear. I became used to issuing pre-dated cheques. The middle man sold it at 5% interest rate. I was responsible for that. There were times I couldn’t even manage to pay the interest. They sued me. I went to court. Paying back and going to court in switching. I was sometimes close to be put in jail. It was like drowning in a vast sea, but we managed to survive, barely so.

In Bangkok’s area of Ratchawat, there was a movie house called “Dusit Theatre”. It was put out for sales. I wanted to own a piece of property. I went to “Maha Nakorn Trust” and asked for 18 million Baht (Actually, it was 18.5 million, but 500,000 Baht was spent on accommodation of the deal). I met the top person of the trust on Monday. He looked at me for a long time and granted it, at the interest rate of 21%. I asked him why he granted it. He said he mastered in the Chinese art of reading faces, and he found me never to go bankrupt on him. It was an old-fashioned way of doing business. I went along with it, too, but also with knowledge and information added.

With the money, I owned several units of building there. Our plan was to sell 90 units for a big profit. Interest rate was so high and on my back all the time. I paid 325,000 Baht every month. Fridays were days of high pressure. Any Friday I talked the rate down to 300,000 Baht, it was a course for celebration. I packed up my family and we were off to Pattaya. I needed a break to reduce my great tension. You must give yourself a break whenever you become too intense and stressful. You must sleep well. Closing eyes to rest and opening eyes to fight on. But the building construction hit a major roadblock. Interior Minister General Siddhi Jiraroj issued a ministerial order that all buildings near the royal palace must not exceed 21 metres in height. My 15 floors were reduced to 7 floors. A big chunk of profit went out the door. Even worse, the sales of buildings were eaten up by advertising cost. We decided to stop selling and bought back the sold units. My wife and I determined to go for a new direction, so our lives could stay afloat. She sought out 10 million Baht and handed it to me to embark on a new business: computer sales. It was Potjaman who asked me to march ahead with the business, and she would deal with the debts and financial problems it had caused.

That is the story for next time.

……………………………………

Chapter 2

จดหมายเปิดผนึกถึงสังคมไทย

จดหมายเปิดผนึกถึงสังคมไทย:กรณีปัญหาที่ดินเขายายเที่ยงของอดีตนายกรัฐมนตรี กับ กรณีการสังหารคนจนไร้ที่ดิน จ.สุราษฎร์ธานี

คัดจาก http://thaienews.blogspot.com/   20 มกราคม 2553     โดย ทีมข่าวไทยอีนิวส์

นักวิชาการ นักศึกษา ประชาชน และองค์กรภาคประชาชนออกแถลงการณ์กรณี

เขายายเที่ยงขององคมนตรี กับกรณีการสังหารนายสมพร พัฒนภูมิ เกษตรกรไร้ที่ทำกิน กรณี สปก.สุราษฎร์ธานี พร้อมยื่นข้อเรียกร้อง 5 ข้อ

…………….

การต่อสู้ของ”คนเสื้อแดง” ต่อการยึดครองพื้นที่ป่าสงวนแห่งชาติของอดีตนายกรัฐมนตรี

สุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์ องคมนตรี ได้เปิดโปงให้สังคมไทยได้รับรู้ถึงความพิกลพิการและเลือกปฏิบัติของกฎหมายไทยอันน่าอดสู

ในขณะที่เอาหูไปนาเอาตาไปไร่ต่อการกระทำของผู้มีอำนาจ แต่สำหรับคนจนผู้ยากไร้ ทั้งๆที่ถูกรุกรานจากการถูกประกาศเขตป่าทับที่ทำกิน หรือได้รับผลกระทบจากกฎหมายที่ไม่เป็นธรรม กลับถูกเล่นงานจากรัฐอย่างไร้ความปราณี รวมทั้งปล่อยให้มีชาวบ้านถูกคุกคามทำร้ายจากมือมืดอย่างไม่สนใจใยดี

ในขณะที่มีการเคลื่อนไหวเปิดโปงกรณีอัปยศเขายายเที่ยง ตอนหัวค่ำของวันที่11 มกราคม 2553 มือปืนไม่ต่ำกว่า 2 คน ได้ระดมสาดกระสุนอาวุธสงครามเข้าใส่นาย สมพร พัฒนภูมิ อายุ 53 ปี สิ้นใจคาที่พักพิงอย่างอุกอาจ

นายสมพร เป็นหนึ่งในหลายพันคนของผู้ไร้ที่ดินในภาคใต้ ที่อยากจะมีที่ดินหาเลี้ยงชีวิต จึงได้เข้าร่วมเคลื่อนไหวกรณีการให้สิทธิที่ดิน สปก. 4-01 กว่า 1,000 ไร่ แก่บริษัทจิวกังจุ้ย จำกัด ต.ไทรทอง อ.ชัยบุรี จ.สุราษฎร์ธานี ซึ่งเป็นไปโดยมิชอบด้วยกฎหมาย

เมื่อพิสูจน์ได้แน่ชัดว่าผู้ได้รับสิทธิไม่ใช่ราษฎรยากจน แต่เป็นการแอบแฝงของนายทุน ซึ่งขัดกับเจตนารมณ์ของกฎหมายปฏิรูปที่ดิน สำนักงานปฏิรูปที่ดินจึงต้องจำยอมดำเนินการฟ้องร้องบริษัทจิวกังจุ้ย จำกัด ทั้งแพ่งและอาญา ในที่สุดศาลตัดสินให้บริษัทแพ้คดี ปัจจุบันอยู่ระหว่างบริษัทยื่นอุทธรณ์

ที่ดินผืนนี้ที่นายสมพรและคนจนยากไร้ที่ดินภาคใต้ ได้เคยเสนอให้รัฐดำเนินการนำที่ดินมาให้คนจนผู้ไร้ที่ดินทำกิน แต่รัฐบาลกลับไม่มีท่าทีที่ชัดเจน และปล่อยให้ความขัดแย้งระหว่างชาวบ้านกับนายทุนเป็นไปโดยไม่สนใจที่จะช่วยถอดชนวนปัญหา

ความตายของนายสมพร ได้ตอกย้ำให้เห็นถึงการเลือกปฏิบัติของรัฐ การละเลย แม้กระทั่งเพิกเฉยที่จะสร้างความเป็นธรรมและความเสมอภาคในสังคม

เราในฐานะประชาชนและองค์กรที่มีรายชื่อ มีข้อเสนอดังนี้ คือ

1. กรณีปัญหาเขายายเที่ยง รัฐบาลต้องผลักดันให้มีการดำเนินการตามกฎหมายกับพลเอกสุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์ อดีตนายกรัฐมนตรีและองค์มนตรี เหมือนเช่นที่บังคับใช้กับประชาชนทั่วไปอย่างไม่ยกเว้น
2. กรณีการสังหารนายสมพร พัฒนภูมิ ผู้ไร้ที่ดิน จ. สุราษฎรธานี รัฐบาลต้องดำเนินการจับกุมคนร้าย และกลุ่มอิทธิพลผู้อยู่เบื้องโดยเร็วที่สุด ไม่ว่าบุคคลเหล่านั้นจะใกล้ชิดกับนักการเมืองหรือผู้ทรงอำนาจฝ่ายใดก็ตาม
3. รัฐต้องดำเนินการยกที่ดินสปก.4-01 ในพื้นที่ ต.ไทรทอง อ.ชัยบุรี จ.สุราษฎร์ธานี ให้กับเกษตรกรผู้ไร้ที่ดิน มิใช่นายทุนหรือบริษัทที่มิใช่เกษตรกร และไม่ควรซื้อเวลาโดยไม่ดำเนินการให้ลุล่วง ดังเช่นที่เป็นมา จนนำมาสู่การสังหารนายสมพร ทั้งๆที่ศาลก็พิพากษาแล้วว่าที่ดินผืนนี้ได้มาโดยมิชอบตามกฎหมาย
4. รัฐต้องดำเนินการปฏิรูปกฎหมายป่าไม้ทุกฉบับ โดยยึดหลักการแนวทางการแก้ไขปัญหาให้สอดคล้องกับสภาพความเป็นจริง เพื่อความเป็นธรรมในสังคม และมิใช่เพื่อกลุ่มอภิสิทธิ์ชน กลุ่มนายทุนอิทธิพล ตลอดทั้งให้ประชาชนผู้ยากไร้เข้ามีส่วนร่วมในกระบวนการต่างๆด้วย
5. รัฐต้องดำเนินการปฏิรูปที่ดิน โดยการกระจายการถือครอง เปิดเผยข้อมูลการถือครองที่ดิน เพื่อความโปร่งใส และมีมาตรการเก็บภาษีก้าวหน้า มิใช่เพียงสร้างภาพอย่างที่เป็นอยู่

ด้วยความเชื่อมั่น

องค์กรและบุคคลที่ลงนามในจดหมายเปิดผนึก

บุคคล

พฤกษ์     เถาถวิล        คณะศิลปะศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี

ไชยันต์    รัชชกูล          สถาบันศาสนา วัฒนธรรม และสันติภาพ มหาวิทยาลัยพายัพ เชียงใหม่

วรวิทย์    เจริญเลิศ      คณะเศรษฐศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

จิตรา       คชเดช          เจ้าหน้าที่/ที่ปรึกษาสหภาพแรงงานไทรอัมพ์อินเตอร์เนชั่นแนลแห่งประเทศไทย

บุญยืน    สุขใหม่          ผู้ประสานงานกลุ่มพัฒนาแรงงานสัมพันธ์ตะวันออก

ศิโรตม์    คล้ามไพบูลย์ นักวิชาการด้านรัฐศาสตร์

วิทยา      อาภรณ์         คณะศิลปะศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยวลัยลักษณ์

อรรถจักร สัตยานุรักษ์ ภาคประวิศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

ประภาส ปิ่นตบแต่ง    คณะรัฐศาสตร์ จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย

เก่งกิจ     กิติเรียงลาภ             คณะสังคมศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์

ผศ.อัจฉริยา เนตรเชย คณะสังคมศาสตร์ ม.นเรศวร

ภควดี     วีระภาสพงษ์ นักวิชาการอิสระ

สมชาย   ปรีชาศิลปกุล คณะนิติศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

วัฒนา     สุขะวัฒน์      นักคิดนักเขียนอิสระ

เนตรดาว เถาถวิล        นักศึกษาปริญญาเอก มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

ศิริชัย      สิงห์ทิศ         ผู้ประสานงานสหพันธ์แรงงานอุตสาหกรรมสิ่งทอฯ

ศิริภาส    ยมจินดา       จีราภรณ์ ถนอมจิตร   สิริลักษณ์​ ศรีประสิทธิ์ นศ.ปริญญาโท โครงการเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ศึกษา บัณทิตวิทยา จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย

ขวัญระวี วงศ์อุดม       นักวิชาการด้านสิทธิมนุษยชน

อุษากร    เหมือนระยูร ณิชนันทน์ รังสิกุล นวรัตน์ วรกิตติ์วสุมา จิตร โพธิ์แก้ว   อรรคพล สาตุ้ม นักวิชาการอิสระ

ใจ อึ้งภากรณ์

ไพบูลย์   เฮงสุวรรณ    นักศึกษาปริญญาเอก มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

เทวฤทธิ์ มณีฉาย        กลุ่มประกายไฟ วิภา ดาวมณี กรรมการเครือข่ายเดือนตุลา

พิภพ       อุดมอิทธิพงศ์ ผู้แปลอิสระ

สืบสกุล กิจนุกร          นักศึกษาปริญญาโท มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่

วัฒนะ     วรรณ            องค์กรเลี้ยวซ้าย

จุมพล สังขะเกตุ          ว่าที่ร้อยตรีจิรศักดิ์ กรรเจียกพงษ์        เบญจมาศ ธำรงโชติ

ปารัชนันท์ ภาวัตโภควินท์        ธนากร สัมมาสาโก                  สุธี พลชัย

แก้วตา เกิดดีลาภ                    ชัยธวัช ตุลาธน สนพ. ฟ้าเดียวกัน

รณณรงค์ แก้วเพ็ชร์                 อานันตยา เชือกรัมย์                มินตา ภณปฤณ

วิลาวรรณ เพเดอร์เซ่น              มัยรา สง่าวงศ์                                     นิธิวัต วรรณศิริ

ธนาวิ โชติประดิษฐ                  นที สรวารี นายกสมาคมสร้างสรรค์กิจกรรมอิสรชน

วิชยุตม์ ปูชิตากร                      ปฐมพร ศรีมันตะ                     อาทิตย์ ศิวะหรรษาพันธ์

ปริวัฎ สุขนันทฬส                    วิวัฒน์ เลิศวิวัฒน์วงศา            สิทธิพร จรดล

กล้า สมุทวณิช                         Rayasuree Donavanik         Sutuch Pingsakulchai

สมชาย อุทัยสา                        Kawnapa Shelley                 นิธินันท์ ยอแสงรัตน์

Wattana Sudsakorn             ดีเจ นิก กฤษณะ                     Pisan Ontama

พัชรี แซ่เอี้ยว                            ปฤณ เทพนรินทร์                     มธุรส ภิรมย์รักษ์

นายวรวิทย์ ไชยทอง

ปฐมพร ศรีมันตะ นิสิตชั้นปีที่2 ภาควิชาการปกครอง คณะรัฐศาสตร์ จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย

Tanaporn Tornros                วุฒิกร แสงรุ่งเรือง                   ปกรณ์ อารีกุล

สุลักษณ์ หลำอุบล                   นุชา วายุรกุล                           ศุภเกียรติ ศุภศักดิ์ศึกษากร

พรรัตน์ วชิราชัย

กอใจ อุ่ยวัฒนพงศ์ นักศึกษา แขนงวิชาสื่อสารการแสดง คณะการสื่อสารมวลชน มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่/ประชาชน

ชุติมาภรณ์ จิตจำ นักศึกษาปริญญาโทนิติศาสตร์/ประชาชน

บุญส่ง ชัยสิงห์กานานนท์ คณะอักษรศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยศิลปากร

ภิภัทร์ภรณ์ ทองศรี                  สมศักดิ์ ภักดิเดช ที่ปรึกษาชมรมนักข่าวเพื่อเสรีภาพไทย

องค์กร

1.สหพันธ์นักศึกษาภาคอีสาน (สนนอ.)

2.กลุ่มนักศึกษาเพื่อประชาธิปไตย ภาคเหนือ

3.แนวร่วมกลุ่มเกษตรกรภาคเหนือ(นกน)

4.กลุ่มประชาธิปไตยเพื่อรัฐสวัสดิการ

5.กลุ่มสร้างสรรค์ชีวิตและสังคมอีสาน (กสส.)

6.เครือข่ายสืบทอดเจตนารมณ์วีรชนเดือนพฤษภาคม

7.ชมรมส่งเสริมการเรียนรู้ภาคเหนือตอนล่าง

8.มูลนิธิครูทิม บุญอิ้ง

9.สถาบันการปกครองตนเองและกระจายอำนาจสู้ท้องถิ่น

10.สถาบันสร้างสรรค์ชีวิตและสังคม (LSI.)

11.เครือข่ายองค์กรชุมชนแก้ไขปัญหาที่ดินทำกินและที่อยู่อาศัยภาคอีสาน (คอ.ปอ.)

12.เครือข่ายคนรุ่นใหม่ภาคอีสาน (คอส.)

13.สหพันธ์เยาวชนอีสาน (สยอ.)

14.ศูนย์ประสานงานเยาวชนสังคมนิยมประชาธิปไตย

15.กลุ่มประกายไฟ

16.องค์กรเลี้ยวซ้าย

17.มูลนิธิศักยภาพชุมชน

18.กลุ่มตะวันฉาย

19.นิตยสารปาจารยสาร

………….

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