Chuwit
Kamolvisit
 The
notorious king of the massage-parlour business, Chuwit Kamolvisit
declared himself in the running for the governor’s seat in April 2004.
Like Pol Capt Chalerm, Chuwit garners lots of press attention.When a mob of demolition men bulldozed a score of beer bars in the middle of night in downtown Bangkok, Chuwit became the prime suspect in the case. He fled the country, and eventually returned to become involved in a highly public squabble with the police and the Thai government over his declaration of the huge bribes he paid to police to keep his message parlours running. The movie-like drama played itself out in the daily papers for months, with Chuwit exposing names of top police officers involved in the bribe taking. Eventually the soap opera died down. However, Chuwit still faces multiple court cases. He is being sued for defamation, employing under-aged girls, and the demolition of Sukhumvit Square beer bars. Chuwit is the leader of his newly established political party called First Thai Nation. His campaign slogan is: “Stay down-to-earth, never forget one's own roots, never hype up one's image, and be sincere.” He believes he would be lucky in the governor race since the election day, Aug 29, is also his birthday. He is to announce his team of deputies and launch his election campaign sometime in June. Mr Chuwit, who owns the Davis Group said his campaign, would be colourful as many of his “young and beautiful” employees would be among his campaign workers. Mr Chuwit said he would also host a radio talk programme on FM 102 from 11pm to midnight every Saturday and Sunday to discuss problems faced by Bangkok people. The tycoon said he would hire a private helicopter at 25,000 baht an hour to drop his campaign leaflets in the city. “Some people may regard me as a clown in the election, but I am not,” Chuwit declared. “Don't compare me with Waranchai [Chokchana, a political activist], because I have money and I know the value of money.” He has been quoted as saying that he is Thailand's Arnold Schwarzenegger, referring to California's movie star governor. And while his shady activities probably won’t win him the confidence of Bangkok voters, his run may be the start of a political career for future elections. He is said to be planning to run political activities in the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. |
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Advertising enquiries to Internet Marketing