Information AboutSondhi Limthongkul |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SONDHI LIMTHONGKUL | |
| thai people | |
| thai activists | |
| thai journalists | |
| thai chinese | |
| thai businesspeople | |
| politics and government of thailand | |
|
BUSINESS AND POLITICAL HISTORY (PRE-1997) Sondhi ran a publishing house called the Manager Group, which published the business newspaper Phoojatkarn Raiwan (Manager Daily). Over the years, Manager Daily has often been seen as Sondhi's personal mouthpiece. Among the companies Sondhi purchased were the IT firms SCT and Micronetic, and the handset retailer IEC. IEC was the exclusive handset retailer for Nokia phones and its major customers were the two rival mobile-phone groups Advanced Info Service , which belonged to future Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra , and Total Access Communication (later known as DTAC). Before taking IEC public in 1992, Sondhi allotted a 17.5 per cent stake in the company to Thaksin. Thaksin bought the stake at Bt10 per share. After the listing, IEC's share price shot up to THB 250 apiece and Thaksin sold out his stake. Sondhi said Thaksin made between THB 600 million to THB 700 million from the IEC float. Sondhi wrote in his book "One Must Know How To Lose Before Knowing How To Win" that he got the feeling that Thaksin was a free rider and did not want to do business with him. The Manager Group-led Asia Broadcasting and Communications Network (ABCN) set up its satellite project, Lao Star Co - which was worth about THB 9 billion - as a joint venture with the Lao government in 1995. Lao Star appointed Space System/Loral to build two L-Star satellites and L-Star 1 was set to officially launch to provide digital direct-to-home TV programmes in 1998. L-Star 2 was to be put into orbit in 1999. The project was planned to serve around 2 billion people in the Asia Pacific region, including India and China. Later ABCN enlisted DTAC's parent, United Communication Industry Plc (Ucom), to back its business. IEC also provided a bulk of the mobile-phone airtime to DTAC before purchasing the 1800-MHz frequency from DTAC to develop its own mobile-phone operator Wireless Communication Service (WCS). WCS offered the service under the brand Digital 01. In 1996, Fortune magazine had put Sondhi's assets at USD 600 million (or THB 12 billion at the exchange-rate of THB 25 to a US dollar). He often travelled around Thailand in a chartered personal business jet from Thai Airways . BUSINESS AND POLITICAL HISTORY (1997-2001) Following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, Sondhi's satellite and publishing businesses faced a meltdown. His WCS was sold to the CP Group before it was renamed TA Orange and later became True Move. The Manager Group was saddled with THB 20 billion in debt but only THB 4 billion in equity. The Manager Group's holding company alone had liabilities of THB 6 billion. Manager Media had Bt4.7 billion in debt. Sondhi was personally in debt for THB 1.5 billion. Sondhi ended up declaring himself bankrupt for three years. This meant that his THB 1.5 billion debt could be claimed from whatever was in his personal account for a span three years, rather than having to repay the debt over 15 or 20 years as earlier scheduled. The Manager Group furiously attacked the Democrat -led government over its management of the economic crisis during its time in office from late 1997 to 2000. This included scathing attacks on Finance Minister Tharin Nimmanhaeminda for his emergency financing agreements with the IMF and Deputy Prime Minister Sawit Bhodhivihok for his policy of privatizing the state-owned electricity sector. BUSINESS AND POLITICAL HISTORY (2001-PRESENT) Pro-Thaksin Period After the election of Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister in 2001, Manager Daily lauded Thaksin's leadership, calling him Thailand's best prime minister ever. as president of the state-owned Krung Thai Bank. Under Viroj's management, the debt that Manager Group owed to Krung Thai Bank was reduced from Bt1.8 billion to THB 200 million. Emerging from bankruptcy, Sondhi started his own TV show, 'Thailand Weekly' airing on the MCOT 's channel. He also invested in two TV channels, 11/1 and 11/2 - a split from Channel 11. A Democrat MP alleged that the Thaksin government gave favors to Sondhi and his companies {Link without Title} . In July 2003, Sondhi wrote in his newspaper predicting the US Dollar 's failure in 2010 and at the same time suggested Thai people Invest In Gold . Origins of the Anti-Thaksin Period In 2004, state-owned Krung Thai Bank (KTB) shocked Thailand's financial world by reclassifying approximately Bt40 billion as problem loans. It was strongly rumored that M.R.W. Pridiyathorn Devakula , the Bank Of Thailand governor, would fire KTB CEO Viroj Nualkhair if he did not voluntarily resign. Viroj Nualkhair was Sondhi's former financial advisor, and as Krung Thai Bank CEO had forgiven Sondhi's debts by THB 1.6 billion. Manager Daily furiously attacked Pridiyathorn and defended Viroj. However, Viroj was eventually forced to leave Krung Thai Bank. Sondhi's public criticism of Thaksin started to increase. Soon after, the MCOT suspended Sondhi's Thailand Weekly television show. The Luang Ta Maha Bua Incident On 27 September 2005, Phoochatkarn Daily published a sermon by Luang Ta Maha Bua, a popular but controversial monk {Link without Title} {Link without Title} . The sermon was seen by many as extremely critical of Thaksin, and further controversial because it came from a monk (who are above criticism in Buddhist Thailand). Especially controversial were the following quotes: ''"They complained to me about PM Thaksin and Mr. Visanu and two other people that I don’t remember. This is the big ogre ตัวยักษ์ใหญ่ , big power. Atrocious power will swallow our country, bite liver and lungs and aim for the presidency....He will put a torch to the country. He will never listen....This savagery and atrocity appear in every aspect of him.... All he has are things to be used for burning."'' ''"He is clearly aiming for the presidency now. The monarch trampled, the religion trampled, the country trampled, by this savage and atrocious power in a few people in the government circle. That is the circle of ogres, of ghosts, of trolls, of demons all in there....So even Devadatta [enemy of the Buddha saw the harm he caused, and he was rewarded for his good deed. He would attain Buddhahood[Thai:พระปัจเจกพุทธเจ้า]. For those who have made mistakes, if we see the harm we cause, we can still get by. But what is it with Thailand? What kind of governance?" ''"They even dare to accuse Luangta Maha Bua of playing politics. Politics, dog shit There’s only shit all over the country. I brought Buddha’s Dharma to cleanse in order for them to repent and recognize good and evil. Because they’re the government. The world flatters them as smart people, but don’t be smart down the toilet[Thai:แต่อย่าฉลาดลงส้วมลงถาน . Don’t be smart about putting a torch to the head of everyone in the country, from Nation, Religion, and Monarchy on down. These guys will get burned unless they recognize the truth. I’m saddened by all this. How does this come about?"'' Thailand has no office of presidency. The King is the head of state and the prime minister, the head of government. A president would replace the King - an unthinkable affront to the Thais’ reverence for the monarchy. Accusations of aspiration to presidency is one of the most severe and rare criticisms a Thai politician can receive. On 11 October 2005, Thaksin sued Sondhi and Manager newspaper for THB 500 million {Link without Title} . As monks have traditionally been above criticism, Thaksin did not sue Luang Ta Maha Bua. "This is an exercise of an individual's right to protect his reputation and privacy. The newspaper did not criticise the prime minister fairly as a public official, but rather it took him to task personally, using harsh words, which was damaging to him," Thana Benjathikul, Thaksin's lawyer said. Thaksin was immediately attacked by Sondhi and accused of gagging the press. Sondhi's lawyer, Suwat Apaipakdi, claimed that "every newspaper reproduced his Ta Maha Bua comments. Why did Thaksin not sue him Ta Maha Bua ? He chose to sue only the Manager Media Group because it's linked to Khun Sondhi". Thaksin's legal team noted that other newspapers only published selected passages of the sermon, and furthermore, that Sondhi had used a slanderous headline was used. Respected civil rights lawyer Thongbai Thongpao has noted that Thaksin's lawsuit did have merit. He added that the lawsuits "do not constitute an attack on freedom of the press"[http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GK02Ae01.html]. The case, along with several other libel cases, was withdrawn after King Bhumibol Adulyadej indirectly advised against such legal action during his annual birthday speech. Luang Ta Maha Bua has made several appearances at Sondhi's anti-Thaksin rallies, and has continued to give sermons attacking the Prime Minister. The Royal Power / Temple of the Emerald Buddha Incident On 10 April 2005, Thaksin Shinawatra presided over a merit-making ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the holiest site in Thai Buddhism . Starting October 2005, the website of Phoochatkarn newspaper {Link without Title} ran an article alleging that the Prime Minister had usurped the Royal powers of the King by presiding over the ceremony. This led Sondhi Limthongkul to start using "We Love the King", "We Will Fight for the King", and "Return Power to the King" as his key anti-Thaksin rallying slogans. This allegation has been repeated in Thaksin's "Thailand Weekly" live tapings. It also became a staple of the Thailand-insider.com website of Ekkayuth Anchanbutr, operator of the Charter pyramid scheme. A widely circulated anonymous spam email showed a picture of Thaksin sitting on a chair normally used by the King and asking "People are familiar with images only of the King and members of the Royal Family, all dressed in royal uniforms and decorated with full regalia, presiding over grand ceremonies in the temple’s main chapel. Yet this picture makes me think: What has happened to our country?". On 9 November 2005, Cabinet secretary-general Bovornsak Uwanno claimed that King Bhumibol Adulyadej granted permission to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to preside over a grand merit-making ceremony[http://nationmultimedia.com/2005/11/10/national/index.php?news=national_19114638.html]. This was corroborated by Chaktham Thammasak, who was director-general of the Bureau of National Buddhism during the time of the incident. Chaktham claims that the Royal Household Bureau designed every aspect of the ceremony, including the positioning of the chairs[http://nationmultimedia.com/2005/11/11/headlines/index.php?news=headlines_19127252.html]. On 17 November 2005, the Civil Court issued a gag order on Sondhi to prevent him from making further "royal powers" allegations {Link without Title} . This immediately prompted Sondhi to attack Thaksin and accuse him of restricting press freedom. Sondhi was investigated on two counts of lese-majesty {Link without Title} against King Bhumibol Adulyadej . Counter-charges of lese-majesty were filed against Prime Minister Thaksin. On 18 November 2005, Supreme Commander General Ruengroj Mahasaranond harshly warned Sondhi against using the King as a political tool. “Our patience is reaching the breaking point. We may take action if Sondhi does not cease his criticism by citing the monarchy” {Link without Title} . All charges have been dropped after King Bhumibol Adulyadej advised against further action in his birthday speech. However, to this day, Sondhi still uses "We Will Fight for the King" and "Return Power to the King" as rallying cries in his anti-Thaksin protests. Ongoing Political Activism Currently (as of December 2005), Sondhi hosts his own outdoor talkshow about political changes and corruption of the Thai government at Thammasat University and in Lumphini Park with his slogan, "We Fight for the King". Many Thai peopleThe Phujatkarn Daily claimed that his 10th talkshow attracted about 150,000 visitors while other local newspapers say that there was an average of 70,000 visitors. join his show, which doubles as anti-Thaksin rallies, every Friday night, while others accuse him of referring to the King, who is most revered by all Thais, for his own benefit. His show is broadcasted Online via the ManagerOnline Web site, generating an almost two-fold increase in site visitors, from an average of 80,000 to 150,000 visitors per day. He also led a mass rally against Thaksin Shinawatra on February 4th and 5th 2006 at 2006. Calling for the resignation of Thaksin, the rally against the government is the largest held in 12 years. The Phra Phrom Erawan Shrine Incident In the early hours of 21 March 2006, Thanakorn Pakdeepol, 27, broke into the Phra Phrom Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok and attacked the god Brahma with a hammer. After destroying the god, he was attacked and beaten to death by several people in the vicinity. Thanakorn Pakdeepol had a history of mental illness and depression. Thai police are still investigating the case {Link without Title} . At an anti-Thaksin rally on 22 March, protest-leader Sondhi Limthongkul claimed that Thaksin Shinawatra masterminded the destruction of the god along in order to replace Brahma with a "dark force" aligned to Thaksin[http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/2/focus/13836842&sec=focus]. Sondhi claimed that Thaksin hired Thanakorn through Khmer (Cambodian) black-magic shamans[http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/23/politics/politics_20003410.php]. The vandal's father, Sayant Pakdeepol called Sondhi is "the biggest liar I have ever seen". Thaksin called Sondhi's accusations "insane". NOTES SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|