Ever wondered how government bigwigs manage their eventful days?
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Niwatthumrong Boonsongpaisan has admitted he usually has no idea what his scheduled for him each day. Most of the time he just lets his secretary and chauffeur lead the way.
Watch carefully now, and you will see that he is always escorted by the hosts of whatever event he is attending. Once that’s done, he starts looking for his secretary.
After delivering a luncheon speech last week, Niwatthumrong immediately started looking for his faithful guide, so he could be told about the next stop on his itinerary.
The one time he does know exactly where he’s going is the end of the day. When the itinerary is done with, he heads for home, no directions needed obviously.
Of course, he has to ask his secretary first to find out if he’s free to leave.
Horn vs whistle
Beside personal items, ministers of the Yingluck Shinawatra government have to pack an air-horn for daily protection. Well, this certainly seems to have become a fun routine for Deputy Commerce Ministers Nuttawut Saikuar and Yanyong Phuangrach.
Nuttawut has bought a bunch of plastic horns and given one to each minister in the Cabinet.
He considers it a self-protection device, after he and other members of the Pheu Thai Party suffered a barrage of whistling launched by anti-government protestors.
Yanyong has also been having fun with the new toy.
Well, we’ve all heard the piercing whistles on the streets and from our TV screens. Now we can look forward to hearing honking sounds from inside the Commerce Ministry.
Never stop learning
It’s not often that one person gets called to the stage twice at CNBC’s Asia Business Leaders Award. But at the 11th edition of the awards ceremony, hosted in Bangkok earlier this month, two business leaders were singled out with second awards.
The double winners were Yancey Hai, chairman of Taiwan’s Delta Group, and Pailin Chuchottaworn, president and CEO of PTT – the national oil and gas company.
Pailin was so pleased he barely stopped smiling after being handed the trophy. His smile became even broader when he was asked whether his cabinet was now full of silverware.
He was named Thailand’s top business leader this year, while 2011 saw him recognised for the CSR activities undertaken on his watch as president of IRPC, a subsidiary of PTT.
He was pleased with the acknowledgement for his efforts at PTT. At the Google Big Tent event earlier this month, he envisaged a new range of products that dispense with the need for oil. A strong direction is necessary as PTT’s revenue now outstrips the government’s balance sheet (which for the 2014 fiscal year is Bt2.5 trillion). He foresees a better year ahead, as the economic environment improves on the back of political stability.
At 57, Pailin said that the next stop for him would involve teaching. Well, he should have tons of experience to share with his students, including how PTT responded to the recent notorious oil spill.
For now, the future professor reckons Thailand has already earned its PhD. Despite protests for weeks, there has been no violence, he notes. All parties seem to have learnt how to proceed with peace.
It’s true. Everybody learns eventually.
