Opposition stalwart
Published on April 9, 2006A senator's experience in activism, teaching and broadcasting has led him to a strong role in the People's Alliance for Democracy
At home, Dr Chirmsak Pinthong, 55, an outgoing Bangkok senator, is usually alone these days, as his wife and their only daughter are both abroad, but as a leading member of the anti-Thaksin movement he has found himself fully occupied during the past few months.
"My wife, Jittiya, who has a PhD in economics, is serving a term as the Thai ambassador to Norway, while my only child is continuing her studies at Wellesley University in the US on a scholarship. So the family now lives on three continents.
"Still, I'm quite busy. I just returned from a big rally in the southern city of Hat Yai. We got a full-stadium crowd listening to speakers from the People's Alliance for Democracy [PAD].
"Meanwhile, people in Khon Kaen have just sent me a fax, inviting me to speak at a rally in that northeastern province. I've suggested they ask the PAD to host the event," says Chirmsak.
After joining the PAD in late January, he has played a pivotal role in the anti-Thaksin movement by encouraging former and current top-ranking government officials to speak out against the caretaker premier, who is now formally taking a break from politics.
During recent PAD rallies, Chirmsak has managed to get these people - who have responsibilities in areas like national security, diplomacy, the armed forces, public health, law and the economy - on the PAD stage to explain to huge crowds complicated issues involving Thaksin's alleged abuses of power.
A political activist since his student days in the 1970's, Chirmsak says: "One day, I just went straight to the mobile Thailand Weekly talk show at Lumpini Park to listen to Sondhi Limthongkul, the media firebrand, while he was criticising the Thaksin regime. Afterwards, I decided to support the movement as an academic providing backup data and research. I was also asked to conduct live TV interviews with critics of Thaksin for the cable ASTV channel."
These critics have included former Thai ambassadors to Washington, DC, and the United Nations, a former foreign minister, senior officers in the Air Force, and the head of a rural doctors' society who knew the Bt30 universal healthcare programme inside out.
As a former host of a popular TV talk show and other programmes, Chirmsak is renowned for his skill in communicating complex issues to the masses. Over the course of his career, he has also edited and published a series
of books that are sharply critical the Thaksin regime.
"If I had enough air time for a month, I think I could get a lot more people to understand the issues involving Thaksin's abuses," says Chirmsak. His own TV programmes
on state-controlled stations were
axed a few years ago for being too
critical of the government.
As a graduate of economics from Thammasat University, Chirmsak continued his studies in the US and earned a PhD in economics from Stanford University.
He spent a total of 28 years as a lecturer at Thammasat with a focus on Thai agriculture and the rural sector. In 2000, he won a Bangkok senatorial seat and, later chaired the Senate committee responsible for selecting and confirming nominees for independent bodies under the Constitution.
During his six-year term, which ends this month, Chirmsak and other non-partisan senators have been instrumental in rejecting dubious nominees to the Election Commission, National Telecommunications Commission and National Broadcasting Commission, as well as in impeaching the previous members of the National Counter Corruption Commission for illegally raising their own salaries.
"For me, the Senate job is not as fun as being a lecturer or a mass media professional.
"I hope to return to work in these fields now that I've completed my term at the Senate. In the meantime, I may take a break soon to join my wife in Oslo as the ambassador's spouse," says Chirmsak.
Nophakhun Limsamarnphun