Published on January 13, 2006

The former boss of Siam Cement Group Chumpol Na Lamlieng is famous for his distaste for publicity, especially about his personal life.

His staff know this well and it was only when Chumpol was retiring that they dared to take the risk and come out with a book entitled “Chumpol Khon Tammada” (Chumpol the Common Man). The book portrays the life and thoughts of Chumpol during his 33-year tenure with Siam Cement. His staff handed it to him just before his retirement at the end of last month.

“Help! If we no longer have jobs because of this book,” the staff half-joked in their introduction.

Chumpol always turned down any publicity project that might touch upon his personal life. So the editorial team was greatly relieved when they handed the book to their boss and saw him grin.

“He was smiling,” said one. “And he sat down patiently and signed books for everyone who asked.”

Certainly, a staff-published book about their boss might not be perfect for every big cheese. Still, the many facts revealed for the first time have made “Chumpol Khon Tammada” one of the most sought-after biographies of the year.

The exceptional literary skills of Seawrite award winner Binlah Sankalakiri, who wrote the book based on interviews he conducted with many present and former Siam Cement staffers, plus sharp cartoons and layout, contribute to the value of the book, which is available only to company shareholders who request it.

One minor defect: a cartoon of Chumpol has him talking on a fixed-line telephone. Now, this is ridiculous. Nowadays we only see Chumpol talking into his PDA phone.

How could Siam Cement’s staff forget that their old boss is a techie and currently the chairman of Singapore Telecom?

lIt’s uncertain whether Thai business persons will be convinced by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s confidence-boosting statements made at Government House on Wednesday. But, as Bizbits has learned, the PM will need to work harder to reassure one of his closest business allies – the Charoen Pokphand Group – to invest more this year.

The conglomerate has three top fortune-tellers. One, Thananurak Jarusakul, reportedly made a prediction that this year would be the year of the “Fire Dog”.

The country might fall into a political crisis during January, April and September, when “changes” could happen, he said. According to an e-mail of his predictions circulating on the Web, Thananurak also predicted the economy would be on a downturn this year.

“If not very bad, it will be standing still,” he said.

Hopefully, the CP’s Sin Sae – Chinese master astrologer – is wrong, or the e-mail is fake.

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