Published on December 23, 2005

Facing with dwindling listeners at Lumpini Park, Sondhi Limthongkul, media mogul turned critic of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, vowed to continued to hold a weekly talk 'even if a single man is left attending'.

"The problem is not whether two hundred thousands people turned up at Lumpini Park or forty to fifty thousands or less. I will carry on even if there's only one person."

Sondhi claimed a victory over the leaking of the Russian fighter plane scandal two weeks ago, saying because of it, the plan is now stalled and some ten billion baht plus of tax payers' money have been saved.

Only about 10,000 people turned up Friday evening a stark contrast to the more than 50,000 who showed up just weeks ago. Sondhi claimed however that about 10 million people watched his talk on satellite television, however.

Knowing that he face equally tenacious opposition and criticism from people who while may oppose Thaksin, doesn't trust Sondhi's integrity and past records, the media baron made it clear again that he was wrong and 'foolish' about the prime minister in the past.

"Yes I did praised him," he said, referring to Thaksin. "I was foolish. But the important thing is that I realised I was wrong and changed in time.

The prime minister looted the country, so he should also return the [ill-gotten] wealth."

Sondhi spared little time to attack the numerous projects in Chiang Mai, the PM's home province, and denounce it as shady and beneficial to only people close to the PM or the ruling party.

He cited the recently opened Night Safari project as one example, saying people had no clue how the whole venture got started and it was initiated in the dark.

"About 10,000 rai of mountain side forest were treated as if it belongs to one clan," said Sondhi accusing Phumtham Vejyachai as being unfairly benefiting from the 30 years concession to run a restaurant at the safari site. Sondhi vowed to shed more light on it in the next talk early next year on January 13.

Sondhi also alleged that Kanaen Boonsupha, the father in law of senior Thai Rak Thai Party member Nevin Chidchorb from benefiting from a number of construction contracts in Chiang Mai amounting to the region of Bt1,880 millions.

"It is not transparents," claimed Sondhi, of the contracts. He then went on to make an ethnicallychauvinistic remark about Newin's Cambodian ethnicity to the applause of the crowd.

The media mogul then turned to the issue of the recent flooding in the south of Thailand, claiming that Thaksin was slow to visit the south because many people there did not voted for the Thai Rak Thai Party.

"If people weren't cursing [Thaksin] he wouldn't have gone there [on Friday]."

By Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

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