After a long night at the rally, from 7pm to 4am, Somkiat returns to Nakhon Ratchasima, where he is a lecturer at the Rajabhat University.

Making the trip sounds like a boring routine but Somkiat, 56, does not drive himself.

"I can't drive," he said. "My wife takes me, and if she doesn't have time, one of my students will. If they're not free, I take the bus."

The lecturer said he likes to sit and think when he's in cars. That's why he's never learned to drive.

"When I'm sitting in the car I come up with ideas for work. Sometimes, I can find a solution."

Somkiat is a founder of the Farmers Assembly and an adviser to the Assembly of the Poor. So he often goes to different provinces to try to resolve members' problems.

The trips cost him a lot of money, but Somkiat says it's not a problem. "Working as a lecturer alone wouldn't leave me with enough [money to make all the journeys]. Besides teaching, I get income from tutoring and writing columns, and I have savings, too."

Somkiat said he was happy to participate in the political struggle against the prime minister, even though it caused him to be the subject of a disciplinary investigation by his university.

"The university committee was concerned I was spending more time on politics than teaching. I was able to explain that my activities weren't affecting the students' learning, though."

Asked why he doesn't work for a non-governmental organisation instead of being a lecturer, Somkiat said teachers can have an ideological influence on their students. What's more, people respect academics, he said.

"In my view, an academic can work with any group. I refer to myself as a 'wandering academic'."

Somkiat intends to help farmers and the poor until they are schooled in the ways of politicians' tricks. He also plans in the next four years to join members of the PAD in forming a party dedicated to helping the poor.

"We'll run the party like the Santi Asoke group's Dharma Army. They have power to oppose things, so if poor people can accumulate a similar sort of power the movement will achieve results," he said. 

Sucheera Pinijparakarn

The Nation