Khun Pleum comes up with |a great Father's Day gift

 ML Nattakorn “Khun Pleum” Devakula surprised viewers of his TV show “The Daily Dose” on Father’s Day by talking about this dad, MR Pridiyathorn Devakula. The thing is that he and his father are widely seen as irrevocably “divided” due to their different political outlooks. 

Khun Pleum works for Voice TV, owned by Thaksin Shinawatra’s son Panthongtae, while his dad is part of the current military regime as deputy premier in charge of economics and has sharply criticised the Yingluck Shinawatra government’s costly rice price-pledging scheme. 

Referring to his father by his nickname “Mom Oui”, Khun Pleum said he believed the timing was right to talk about the old man’s contributions to the country. “I wouldn’t talk about my dad had he not become a public figure, but today I’ll talk about him in his official role,” he said. 

And so the Father’s Day tribute began. “I recently met some red shirts and Pheu Thai Party members and they said I don’t criticise the government enough. Martial law prevents him from saying much, he acknowledged, but, “As a matter of fact, I have criticised Mom Oui’s economic policy.” 

Nevertheless, Khun Pleum praised his father for helping establish the Export-Import Bank of Thailand years ago. “That was his baby.” He recalled too how MR Pridiyathorn, when he was governor of the Bank of Thailand, sacked Krung Thai president Viroj Nualkae for alleged malfeasance. “There was doubt whether it was within the BOT governor’s mandate, but Mom Oui did it and it underlined his leadership,” said Pleum.

Broaching the subject of politics, Pleum reminded viewers that Pridiyathorn also served as spokesman for the Chatichai Chonhavan government, which was brought down in the 1991 coup, and as deputy commerce minister in the interim government of Anand Panyarachun that succeeded it.

He hailed Mom Oui, Tharin Nimmanhaemin and Supachai Panichpakdi as outstanding technocrats who came into government from the banking sector. “It’s a shame we haven’t had any new technocrats [of their calibre] coming along lately.” 

It’s not true, as some people believe, that his father works in an ivory tower, too isolated to care about real life, Khun Pleum said. He’s very down to earth and routinely goes “into the field” to study problems. “Many of you who’ve met me while I was taping my show outside the studio have said I’m very down to earth. Well, I want to tell you guys that I inherited that from Mom Oui!” 

Even as governor of the central bank, Pridiyathorn would often borrow his chauffeur’s motorcycle to get around. “He hardly ever used the car because he wanted to get all his work done within a limited timeframe.” To this day it’s rare that the old man has his personal limousine parked at home. “And, unlike politicians, Mom Oui doesn’t need a personal entourage whenever he goes out.”

So there’s no need to worry that the man running Thailand’s economy doesn’t understand the fundamentals, like the hardships that farmers and other ordinary people endure, Khun Pleum said. 

It seems the prodigal son returneth, assuming he ever strayed far in the first place.