Chuvit Kamolvisit walked into the top floor suite in his hotel on Sukhumvit and suddenly with no words of greeting or introduction launched into a rapid-fire monologue as if he were hosting a talk show.
Chuvit Kamolvisit intends to comment on current affairs from an insider’s position. Photo: Somchai Poomlard
"What? Another case of abduction and forced disappearance? This time the suspect is up to the police colonel level? I am telling you it's not a neat job if they got caught," Chuvit said apparently referring to the recent abduction and murder of a woman allegedly involved in a love triangle by various suspects, several of whom are current and former police and military officers.
SUKHUMVIT DEMOLITION DEBACLE
- Jan 26, 2003: More than 300 men raided the 10 rai nightstrip on the corner of Sukhumvit 10 and demolished beer bars, shops and other business outlets there, causing an estimated 100 million baht in damage.
- Forty-four shop owners filed charges against Chuvit Kamolvisit and 129 others for trespassing, damaging property and forcefully detaining a person.
- Feb 2003: An arrest warrant is issued for Chuvit, who denied the charges.
- July 13, 2006: The first court acquitted all defendants except Charnwet Malaibucha, Chuvit’s lawyer, who was sentenced to eight months in jail. The plaintiffs appealed against the ruling.
- Sept 11, 2012: The Appeals Court found 66 defendants guilty of damaging people’s property. It handed a five-year sentence to 60 defendants, including Chuvit.
- Oct 15, 2015: Chuvit withdraws his denial and instead pleads guilty to the charges.
- Jan 15, 2016: The Supreme Court sentences Chuvit to five years in jail, commuted to two years because Chuvit compensated the damaged parties and turned the disputed plot into a park for public use. (Sources: Bangkok Post, Thai Rath and Sanook.)
A former massage parlour kingpin-turn-politician, Chuvit, 65, has just added "ex-convict" to his biodata.
Last January, the Supreme Court sentenced Chuvit to two years in jail for razing dozens of bars and shops on Sukhumvit Road in 2003. The plot of land is where the Chuvit Park is located at present.
After spending almost a year at Bangkok Remand Prison mostly as a helper at the facility's hospital, Chuvit received a royal pardon to mark His Majesty the King's accession to the throne last December.
A firebrand who has a knack for turning everything he does into theatrics, Chuvit is not one to stay low for a long time. In fact, as soon as he stood before the prison gate waiting to be freed on Dec 16, he had already hatched his new career, he said.
"I am going to be a digital journalist, a talk-show host. I will give people a different kind of news, one imbued with my personal experience and insight," said Chuvit, well-known in the past for colourful attempts to expose corruption and underground activities among the powers, especially the police force.
He insisted the plan to become a media personality was a flash of inspiration that came to him then and there.
"I am not the kind to plan ahead or do long-term thinking. If I did, I wouldn't have ended up like this," he quipped.
As Chuvit "staged" his commentary about the abduction case, he pretended to speak on the phone and bang on a typewriter. In what appears to be an incongruous arrangement, or a case of conflicting identities, Chuvit chose to broadcast his daily show, titled Ru Chen Hen Chart (Deep To The Bones), via the modern medium of Facebook Live but adorn his work space with remnants from the past including a rotary dial phone, a classic-looking typewriter and a gramophone.
His set wouldn't be complete without symbols of the justice process, a scale and gavel
"I made it look like I am Sherlock Holmes," Chuvit declared.
Chuvit Kamolvisit raises his arms in celebration after being released from prison under a royal pardon. Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya
The former Rak Thailand party leader last Tuesday pledged an oath in front of the Tiger God Shrine in Bangkok's Phra Nakhon district to quit politics for good. He probably did not need to as the 2016 draft constitution bars for 10 years former convicts from seeking election as a member of the parliament.
He also revealed he is starting a daily TV talk show, titled Tee Saek Na (Hitting Right In The Face) on Jan 30 on Thairath TV.
Although Chuvit is known for an uncanny ability to manipulate news media and quickly grasp their attention with dramatic showmanship and gimmicks -- he even brought a bowl and toiletries to the Supreme Court as props to show he was willing to go to jail on his judgement day -- he spares no effort to bash their work especially that of TV journalists.
"All TV news programmes are done wrong," Chuvit said. "They are following the same pattern of having young people recounting news stories, which people already know about or can read for themselves from newspapers."
He said what he will offer, which he believes differs from broadcast or online news currently available, is his own perspective on what happened based on his experience and "wisdom".
"Why do cases of forced disappearance often involve policemen or soldiers? Why not plumbers or electricians? Why do we see floods every year when we have invested billions in flood protection? The same is true with rice. We have worked to improve the livelihood of rice farmers for decades but the price of rice has remained more or less the same at about 6,000 baht [per tonne]," Chuvit said.
Chuvit’s ‘studio’ is very much old school, but the medium of Facebook Live is very much 21st century. Photo: Somchai Poomlard
He insisted he will not be reciting news stories in his talk shows but he will make people understand what is going on.
He cited as an example repeated failures by authorities to apprehend the abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, wanted on charges of money laundering and possessing stolen goods. The unsuccessful attempts make it appear that authorities are taking people for fools, he said.
"Think about it, more than 100 lawsuits and several arrest warrants for Phra Dhammajayo. If you were him, would you stay? There is a photo showing his close aid in Paris. Don't you think his boss wouldn't be in London?" Chuvit asked, referring to a picture circulated online of Ong-art Thamnitha, the spokesman for Wat Phra Dhammakaya's disciples, showing him at a restaurant in France.
Ong-art is wanted on a charge of inciting public unrest in connection with the prosecution by the state of the temple's former abbot, Phra Dhammajayo.
Chuvit insisted he will carry on his trademark of calling it like it is with his new show but admitted there are certain limits that he will have to respect.
"There are always constraints," Chuvit said. "But don't worry. They are temporary. One day, they will have to come down."
He added he will also get out and mingle with people on the street to hear their complaints and grievances for his shows.
So, is he pursuing this new career in the hope that society will become cleaner and better?
In what appears to be yet another case of conflicting aspirations, Chuvit bluntly said: No.
"How can society become better with what I do? I am just one man. I am too small to make big changes. I am telling you the truth. Society is not going to change. In fact, it could become worse," Chuvit said.
He conceded he used to cherish idealistic thoughts in his youth, of wanting to change the entire country and finding glory for himself. At this point in his life, however, he said he can't fight "the system".
"I have grown old. I have locked up my idealism. Even though I have kept some of those thoughts, I don't think I will be able to make changes now. Leave the mission to younger generations," said Chuvit.
He said he used to lead a luxurious life, amassing hundreds of millions of baht in his 30s. During the low turn, he was a prisoner living on a daily allowance of 300 baht with a day job collecting bodies of those who died in prison. Chuvit admitted the time spent in jail was the time he truly learned about life, how it's full of uncertainties, is often miserable and not always fair.
He claimed 80% of prisoners are drugs cases, some of them involving a small amount. It's too bad these minor cases are locked up in the same room with those who were there for far more serious charges.
"There are people who end up in jail because they are too poor to afford bail or too ignorant about the law," Chuvit said. There are prisoners like him who broke the law and faced the punishment. And there are those he called the "samurai", people he said can go to jail for others for a price, who belong to the prison and regard it as their home and resting place.
All these people together can't help but learn from one another and it's often not good things.
"Life in jail makes me resolve to live every remaining day as if it is my last," said Chuvit, who took care of nearly 100 Aids patients while working at the facility's hospital.
"Everyday in jail is a bad day," he added. "You can order food from outside, fried chicken or anything. You can literally spend a million baht a day in prison. There are people who will come and say they can make your wishes come true at a certain price when you are behind bars. But it's no good."
In yet another seemingly contradictory statement, the former political showman said he doesn't expect anything from entering the media.
"I have been through enough. I have done enough. I have had enough. I have sacrificed enough. I could have bought a yacht and gone sailing," Chuvit said. Why not then?
"Because I still think if I can contribute something, even just 5 or 10%, it's still good enough," he said.
