Former dean of the Faculty of Political Science of Ramkhamhaeng University Asadang Panikkabutr has offered some words of wisdom for Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
He said Mr Thanathorn has a good future ahead of him, but he should be more patient, "talk less and act more" and should not feel demoralised.
More importantly, he said the firebrand politician must possess and practise the three key elements of Buddhist traditions, which are mindfulness, compassion and not taking advantage of other people.
"Don't you know you have a lot of enemies, especially the right-wing media?" asked Mr Asadang as he advised Mr Thanathorn to rethink his attitude and surround himself with good people to work for the party.
"If you are a minister, the first thing you should do is not accept the salary and donate the money for charity because you are already a rich man. And you must not use a state car and reject an escort car," said the former dean whose advice came the same day, Oct 30, that Mr Thanathorn delivered a message to his party members and supporters which was interpreted by some critics as a farewell speech as if he already knew the fate that will soon befall him.
The embattled Future Forward Party leader began his message with an apology for his "less than it should be" communication with his "travel companions" as he described the party's long journey.
He said their journey was riddled with obstacles, but they would persevere and march on to realise their dream of changes for a progressive society in which everyone is fairly and equally treated.
Will Mr Thanathorn listen to his own advice? I do not have the answer. But judging from the character of a man who seems to be in a hurry and who thinks time is not on his side, not to mention his infamous arrogance, I don't think he will listen because that is not his character.
Despite the fact he has been suspended from performing his duty as an MP by the Constitutional Court, the defiant Future Forward Party leader has actively engaged in political activities outside parliament. He has reached out to people in the provinces, especially in the southern region, and repeatedly preached his party's mantra of rewriting the constitution to bring about social and political changes and, above all, genuine democracy where the people are the master of the land.
Mr Thanathorn carried on his campaign for charter changes with his talk at a panel discussion on the subject, entitled "Constitutional Changes to address bread and butter problems", in Phatthalung province on Saturday.
His opinion is that if the people have a real say in the allocation of the national budget, bread and butter problems will be eased if not resolved. Therefore changing the charter is the first step towards dealing with the problem.
For me, this sounds too good to be true as the constitution, no matter how imperfect it is, is not the main culprit of our economic ills and, hence, rewriting it is not the only solution.
The economic problems are more complex and involve many factors which cannot be tackled by constitutional changes. We used to have a more democratic charter, the so-called 1997 People's Constitution, and yet most farmers were poor then and they remain poor today without any power to dictate the prices of their rice crops.
Mr Thanathorn will keep to his monotone campaign for charter change because he knows his time is running out. His judgement day is due on Nov 20 when the Constitutional Court will deliver its ruling on his media share ownership in V-Luck Media Co.
Mr Thanathorn has countered the charge by claiming that he was never involved in running the company and was just a passive shareholder, which I believe is true. He claims he had transferred his shares in the company to his mother before he registered his candidacy for the March 24 election.
Whether the court will base its judgment on the legal basis alone -- that an election candidate cannot hold media shares on the date of his candidacy registration -- without taking into consideration the factual evidence, remains to be seen. But the political temperature is likely to surge in the lead up to the judgement despite the cold weather.
Mr Thanathorn will emerge stronger, more confident and more arrogant if he wins the case. However, if he loses, which many people think he will, then the Future Forward Party will have to look for a new leader.
Veera Prateepchaikul is former editor, Bangkok Post.