TUESDAY, March 19, 2024
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Billionaires like Thaksin, Thanathorn are not what Thai politics needs

Billionaires like Thaksin, Thanathorn are not what Thai politics needs

Re: “Thanathornophobia sufferer may be in need of urgent medical help”, Have Your Say, yesterday.

Somsak Pola claims that I am suffering from “Thaksinophobia”. That is not true. Why?
I started to have doubts about Thaksin Shinawatra as a genuine leader a year before he became prime minister in 2001. I have never been mistaken about this person. I am one of a few Thais who criticised Thaksin frankly, boldly and factually. Is that Thaksinophobia?
Thaksinophobia should be applied to those who are too cowardly to call a spade a spade regarding Thaksin.
In the past decade, I have seen hundreds of prominent Thais have their lives ruined because they believed in Thaksin. One of the country’s highly respected people, who died at the age of 92 not long ago, once expressed his shame for declaring his support for Thaksin, even naming him a national “hero” – only to find out Thaksin had totally betrayed his confidence.
Somsak knows all about these facts, it’s just that he chooses to ignore them.
Somsak’s claim that I am also suffering from Thanathornophobia is absurd. I have just finished reading two books about this person, and am on the verge of starting the third. Has Somsak done the same thing?
Finally, who needs medical help here?
Vint Chavala

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