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Heavyweight Suwat is the power behind Energy Minister Poonpirom - Misery recalled at Agriculture Ministry as deputy secretary quits - Songsak looks after angry young men at anti-PAD protest
Suwat: Helping the wife |
Heavyweight politician Suwat Liptapanlop has always been the more imposing half of Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop and he doesn't hide it.
Allegations are widespread about the government being full of proxies filling in for former executives of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party who are serving a five-year election ban for poll fraud.
Mr Suwat is one of those banned executives and the appointment of his wife Lt-Gen Poonpirom to cabinet was dismissed by opponents as political puppetry.
She was ridiculed even before she took office and mocked for being nothing more than a seat-filler for her husband while he waits for his ban to expire.
She might have thought it more of a curse than a blessing to have been given the energy portfolio during a time when petrol prices have been hitting historic highs almost every week.
The soft-spoken minister was bombarded with accusations of being ineffectual. Determined to prove her accusers wrong, she mobilised help from the bureaucracy to hasten the development of alternative fuels.
But the efforts have had little effect, if any at all, on cushioning the impact of soaring fuel prices, while consumer patience has been wearing thinner by the day.
Somsak: No visionary, either |
Despite her perceived shortcomings and limitations, Lt-Gen Poonpirom has still managed, albeit not easily, to secure a pass on her score card. But the pass is awarded for her efforts, and perhaps these efforts alone, in directing the ministry's affairs.
A novice in politics and national administration, Lt-Gen Poonpirom needs all the coaching on offer and she need only look to the other side of the marital bed for the best personal trainer in all things political.
It came as no surprise then that on her most recent study tour to Brazil, the name Suwat Liptapanlop popped up on the itinerary. Mr Suwat accompanied his wife so he could draw the interest of high-profile journalists, to ensure the broadest media coverage of Lt-Gen Poonpirom's work overseas.
This goes to show that while Mr Suwat may be labelled as "out of a job", the opposite is actually true.
A source said the columnists of mass-circulation newspapers invited on the four-day tour were hand-picked by Mr Suwat, who is regarded by certain branches of the press as something of a favourite.
The Brazil trip was to afford Lt-Gen Poonpirom a clearer perspective of advances in fuel crop production and the sustainability of using such fuel commercially in vehicles.
The source said that during press conferences, Mr Suwat asked most of the questions. On the last day of the tour, a curious Brazilian energy official stepped up and asked what state agency Mr Suwat represented. Mr Suwat said: "I'm her spouse," pointing to a blushing Lt-Gen Poonpirom.
Ministry in search of a leader
The unexpected resignation of agriculture deputy permanent secretary Phinit Korsriporn last week is seen by many as a sign that this 116-year-old ministry is in a coma.
Mr Phinit, who has been at the ministry for 27 years, said he had had enough of working here.
He wanted to take up a more challenging job as a United Nations-affiliated Food and Agriculture Organisation representative in Malawi.
However, many of his colleagues are not convinced this was the only reason he left.
A senior ministry official said staff had been discouraged and demoralised by a disappointing line-up of ministers who had overseen the ministry over the past few years.
The outgoing deputy permanent secretary might have shared that feeling.
The atmosphere at the ministry had become heavy since the arrival of coup-appointed minister Thira Sutabutra who, like most of the Surayud government ministers, failed to come up with any pro-active policy.
Mr Thira chose to work only on a day-to-day basis and his main task was to preside over ceremonies or cut the ribbon at agricultural fairs.
Many projects aimed at improving farmers' lives and agricultural production had been put on hold or even ignored.
Under Mr Thira, the ministry was unacceptably "low profile" in the eyes of many agriculture officials, who were proud to work for what is regarded as a "grade A" ministry.
Such a sluggish performance was understandable during the interim government's term.
Officials expected the sky over the ministry on Ratchadamnoen Nok avenue would clear again with the coming of the elected government.
But in the four months since Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Somsak Prissananantakul and his deputy Theerachai Saenkaew took office nothing has improved, officials say.
The ministry is as dead as it was during Mr Thira's tenure and morale has plunged even lower.
Mr Somsak and Mr Theerachai have yet to come up with any striking policies and failed to proceed with projects that would assist farmers.
A scheme to buy fertiliser from foreign countries to sell to farmers at a cut price to ease the impact of rising production costs is one example.
Mr Phinit was in charge of the project but conceded it was going nowhere, even though cabinet had approved a 300-million-baht budget for the procurement.
Such sluggishness is attributed to a lack of teamwork between ministers and officials.
No matter how hard officials tried to work out a project, without proper backing and attention from the ministers, they failed to make headway.
From a coup-appointed minister to the People Power party-led government, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel for agricultural officials.
Even so, those hardest hit by this ongoing morale crisis are not the state officials or the ministers - but the poor farmers who are in dire need of help.
Keeping the boys comfortable
The night before the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched to Government House last Friday, rival demonstrators gathered nearby to wage a turf war with the anti-government group.
Demonstrators from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship of Thailand (UDDT), mostly aggressive-looking young men, were ordered to stay overnight in front of the Transport Ministry, which is near the Makkhawan Rangsan bridge, the PAD protest site.
The UDDT gathering would not have lasted as long as it did if it had not been for the efforts of one man.
Deputy Transport Minister Songsak Thongsri was seen at the ministry that night.
He allegedly led the group that ensured the UDDT demonstration went smoothly. If the protesters were thirsty, there was water and if they got hungry, food was always available.
Mr Songsak was spotted leading the group from dusk the previous night to dawn on the morning of June 20.
At 4am on June 20, the deputy minister left the ministry and took some rest at home.
Before hitting the sack, he whispered an order to his aides.
"Don't forget to hand out meal packs at 7am," he told his staff.
But Mr Songsak may not have been working independently.
He retains close ties with former Thai Rak Thai executive Newin Chidchob, who is said to be the right-hand man of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
It was also hard to overlook the fact that many UDDT demonstrators came from Buri Ram, Mr Newin's political heartland.
Mr Songsak has vehemently denied any role in supporting the UDDT.
However, the deputy minister has said his staff hired tents at 1,500 baht each for the UDDT supporters to protect them from the rain.
On June 20, Mr Songsak was seen at his ministry again.
He came to the office at 11am while other officials were told to leave early to avoid traffic congestion and possible chaos caused by the PAD gathering.
Mr Songsak insisted he just wanted to maintain peace and order near his ministry.
Later in the day, after the PAD laid siege to Government House, the deputy minister convinced the UDDT protesters to base their rally at Sanam Luang, a few kilometres from where the PAD protest had taken place.
His efforts in mobilising a counter-rally may have helped him gain more favour with Mr Newin.
But he might win even greater trust from Mr Newin if he went a step further and strengthened his media relations skills, which remains an area in which Mr Songsak is seen as weak.
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