Art of surname selection

The first name seems familiar, as in the business circles, there has been only one man by that name – the chief executive officer of Property Perfect.

But that man’s surname is Ngowsirimanee. Is this the same man?

The answer is yes. Chainid has changed the surname he had used for 58 years. This explains why at the press conference last week where Property Perfect launched its first property fund, the first question reporters asked was about the change.

Here’s his answer: “The old surname belongs to my uncle. As a leader of my own family, I need a surname of my own.”

He is proud of the new surname, Adhyansakul, which means “a wise person”. The meaning is perfect, and it was not difficult for him to choose it from three given by a respected monk.

The other two choices were Siriwattanakul and Wattanabhokhin, but they seemed forbidden to him. From any angle, Siriwattanakul sounds too close to Sirivadhanabhakdi – the surname of Thai billionaire Charoen, who also has a property-business empire. Meanwhile, Wattanabhokhin sounds too close to Anant Asavabhokin, CEO of Land & Houses – another rival of Property Perfect.

Chainid believes that he will be blessed by his new surname. The shareholders of his company should have the same wish.

Critics bear Yanyong’s wrath

Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach is known as a straightforward person.

He has never been shy about expressing his opinions. And now his energy is directed towards those who are against the rice-pledging scheme – including some officials at the Finance Ministry.

He is openly angry with Finance officials who charged that the Commerce Ministry was too slow to release rice stockpiles, which left their ministry busy finding new money to finance the third year of the pledging programme.

From Yanyong’s perspective, the government scheme deserves the support of all officials. Therefore, the Commerce Ministry should win some understanding for the slow release of rice.

“Commerce could release all the stockpiles in one year if Finance could accept huge losses,” he said.

Does he care about the Finance Ministry’s mission to find new money for the scheme? No. He simply says it’s the ministry’s duty.

It is understandable why Yanyong wanted to lash out at the critical officials. Besides them, he and Commerce Minister Niwatthumrong Boonsongpaisan have had to deal with comments from many others. One of these is former deputy prime minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, who estimated that the losses from the first two years of the pledging project could be as high as Bt425 billion.

Yanyong might need to cool down a bit. This bombardment will be endless as long as the figures on the exact amounts of the stockpile and losses incurred are missing.

no script for farmers, please

(23612690, Prasith, pls crop, he’s 3rd from right)

Prasith Boonchuey, president to the Thai Rice Farmers Association, says he has seldom been invited to a show on free TV to comment on the rice-pledging scheme.

It’s not surprising, as his organisation stands out as being against the project.

Prasith recalled that a free-TV channel invited him for a discussion. But the host told him to say: “I am happy with the pledging and favour the project.”

“That’s not me,” Prasith said. He has stuck to that view. You can’t see him on free-TV programmes, but probably on cable TV, where he can straightforwardly convey his opinion. He is not happy at not being on free TV, which has a broader audience base, but he is happy that he can stand by his belief.

The way he sees it, actors may need a script, but farmers do not.

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