Thaksin says he won't try comeback

The Straits Times, January 15, 2007


SINGAPORE - Thailand's ousted prime minister said he will not try to return to power, and criticised the new government's economic policies in an interview published on Monday.

Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, toppled in a Sept 19 coup, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he is in contact with the military officers now controlling Thailand.

'I reassure them they shouldn't feel worried about me,' he said in his first full interview since the coup, adding he will not seek to regain his old job - but will remain a member of his political party.

In an interview broadcast on CNN on Monday evening, he repeated that he has retired from politics, saying 'enough is enough'. The interview was blocked in Thailand for those viewing CNN over the UBC cable television network. Viewers who receive CNN over UBC's direct broadcast satellite system were able to watch it, however.

The military council that is the power behind Thailand's current government last week advised broadcasters to limit their coverage of Mr Thaksin and his statements, saying national unity and stability was at stake. The military has claimed that Mr Thaksin's supporters are seeking to destabilise the government.

In his Wall Street Journal interview, Mr Thaksin also said Thailand must better prepare for economic competition.

'Whether we like it or not, we have to live under a capitalist system,' he was quoted as saying on the newspaper's website. 'And to live in it successfully, we have to open up our economy and our society. Competition is unavoidable so we have to prepare for it.'

He said the new government's recent about-face on stock market capital controls has destroyed investors' confidence.

'Trust and confidence is the name of the game,' said the businessman who built his Shin Corporation into one of Asia's largest telecommunications companies.

He has been in self-imposed exile since the coup, travelling between Britain and Asia. He was in Singapore this week on a private visit.

Stock market upheaval
Last month, Thailand's central bank announced restrictions on foreign capital inflows to try stemming the baht currency's rise against the US dollar, which hurts exporters by making Thai goods cost more.

The announcement caused Thai share prices to plunge nearly 15 per cent. Authorities quickly lifted controls on foreign stock investments, but retained those on bonds and other debt instruments.

The benchmark stock index bounced back by 11 per cent the next day.

The controls require banks to lock up 30 per cent of new foreign-currency deposits intended to buy bonds, with penalties if they are held for less than a year.

In his interview, Mr Thaksin said he broke his silence to counter suggestions that some of his supporters may have planted bombs that killed three people in Bangkok on New Year's Eve.

'They were pointing the finger at me, so I thought it was now time to talk,' said Mr Thaksin, who denies involvement in the bombings.

The new government has discounted the possible involvement of insurgents among Thailand's minority Muslims, who have been fighting a guerilla war in the mostly Buddhist country's south since 2004.

Mr Thaksin's family sold its Shin Corp shares to Singapore's Temasek Holdings in January 2006 for US$2.1 billion (S$3.2 billion).

The sale drew widespread protests because it placed strategic assets like communications satellites under foreign control, and because it was structured to avoid taxes.

Protests over the sale fuelled calls for Mr Thaksin to resign. His family insists the sale was done lawfully. -- AP