The greatest challenge of his life emerged immediately his family - and that of his in-laws - sealed a deal to sell its stake in Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings for Bt73.3 billion on January 23. Much of the criticism surrounds the fact that they managed to sell their stakes without paying any capital gains tax, using questionable practices to avoid a potentially hefty tax liability.

University lecturers and students from various respectable institutions have since signed a petition calling for his resignation, and an increasing number of organisations have jumped on the anti-Thaksin bandwagon.

On February 19, the movement gained significant momentum when Thaksin's former mentor Chamlong Srimuang - president of the Dharma Army Foundation and founder and former leader of the Palang Dharma Party - vowed to join tomorrow's anti-Thaksin rally at Sanam Luang, which has been planned with the goal of ousting the prime minister.

Public resentment grew when Chamlong's stronghold, the Santi Asoke monastery, was hit by a bomb blast early Wednesday morning.

In response to the growing sentiment against him, Thaksin took the following steps during the past four weeks before finally calling for the dissolution of the House yesterday:

l He tried to explain on his weekly radio programme that there had been no wrongdoing in the Shin Corp sell-off.

l Several government agencies came out to defend the sale, saying that it was in line with the law.

l He invited academics to come up with suggestions for amending the Constitution.

l He suggested a special joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives to discuss the nation's problems and address the crisis that has engulfed his administration.

l His Thai Rak Thai Party sent one million open letters to the party's members explaining the sale of Shin Corp.

l The government placed ads on TV channels 9 and 11 for one month, detailing the government's performance.

l He sought a meeting with Privy Council president and statesman Prem Tinsulanonda.

l He convened a meeting of ministers in charge of economic affairs to come up with measures to help the poor and middle-income earners. There were proposals to increase the minimum daily wage, increased tax-deductible allowances, and a 5-per-cent pay rise for state enterprise employees.

l He sought to boost his political support when chairing a ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the Cooperative League of Thailand.

Chularat Saengpassa

The Nation