Thailand: Thaksin takes at dig at sister

[FarangFarang]

Siblings have a special way of taking a poke at each other, even long after they have flown the family nest.

And so it is with Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s exiled former premier, who in a public appearance on Friday insisted, as he often does, that he isn’t running the country through his younger sister, Yingluck, the current prime minister.

“I’m not running Thailand,” he said. “My sister is running Thailand, but she may ask my advice on some issue. But not every issue. She is very capable – much better than I expected.” Ouch.

Thaksin was speaking in New Delhi, sharing a bit of his hard-won advice with India’s business and political elite.

His main tip was to sound a note of caution to any business person considering entering the political fray.

“Politics is very cruel and unusual,” he said. “It’s better for someone who has nothing to loose.”

Thaksin built Thailand’s largest mobile phone company, Advance Info Service, entering politics, and taking the premiership in 2001. His ownership of his company, Shin Corp, was passed to his children, but when the family decided to sell the business in early 2006 to sell the company to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, it triggered an outcry from elites already unhappy with other aspects of Thaksin’s politics.

Within eight months, Thaksin had been ousted from power in a military coup, and has been living in exile ever since, with the exception of an eight-month period in 2008. His assets, including most of the profits from the $1.9bn Shin Corp sale, have been frozen.

“If you want to go into politics, wash your hands from business first,” he advised the crowd in India. “Give up or sell whatever you have. I’ve been robbed of a lot of my money.”

There is another side to the Thaksin saga: his many critics would point out that he faces corruption-related charges in Bangkok. But when Thaksin tells his side of the story, he tells it well.

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2012/11/16/thailand-thaksin-takes-at-dig-at-sister/#axzz2COilfdu5

[English_Bob]

What a *****...

I'd love to be 200 metres away from him on a still, clear day with no-one between him and my crosshairs.

[FarangFarang]

I love the "much better than I expected" line. Classic.

[Admin_2]

...with no-one between him and my crosshairs.

I thought you shaved those.

[Admin_2]

I'd like to see a video of the "much better than I expected" line. I can imagine that it wasn't an intentional poke at his sister. Thaksin's English isn't great, and he screws up a lot on (and off) camera.

Right after he said that, I can see him with a smile like..."Shit, did I really just say that?"