So, acting party leader Chaturon Chaisang on Monday announced a plan to move the party's offices back to their old site on Rajvithee Road.

Chaturon denied the change of location had anything to do with geomancy, or feng shui - the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space which is claimed to achieve harmony with the environment - after the party was disastrously affected by political changes following the September coup.

But it cannot be denied the rules of feng shui appear, at least, to have had an impact on Thai Rak Thai.

Let's go back to the day in 2005 when Thai Rak Thai celebrated its seventh anniversary by moving to the new headquarters. The buildings that house the head office belong to Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of Thaksin. She spent Bt800 million on them.

At that time the party was proud of the luxurious facilities on offer for party MPs and visitors.

The party's compound has two buildings, Building 1 with eight floors and Building 2 with 14. The offices of the party leader and other senior executives are on the top floor of Building 1.

Building 2, besides having a meeting room, more executive offices and rooms for party members and training sessions, also has a fully equipped gym, library, gardens and high-speed computers.

Yet, soon after the party moved to Phetchaburi Road, fortune-tellers warned that the change of location would produce negative feng shui because of the environment surrounding the building - including the large number of massage parlours - but Thaksin ignored the warnings even though he believes in feng shui.

Even senior party member Pongpol Adireksarn suggested a move to Nang Lerng Road.

The fortune-tellers' warnings appeared to come true as the party began to face a political crisis early this year. Later, party workers placed two sculptures of the mythical singha at the building's entrance, reportedly to counter Thaksin's astrological weaknesses.

But it came "too late" for Thaksin and his party as they were overthrown by the military coup.

Besides the coup, it also faces a ruling by the Constitution Court that could lead to its dissolution (along with those of other parties) for allegedly violating the Constitution and Political Party Act.

Meanwhile, Pojaman is defending herself from allegations relating to a land purchase.

Chaturon, who stepped into Thaksin's shoes, recently told The Nation that he is trying to prove that even without Thaksin the party can still function.

The current compound at the old IFCT Building on Phetchaburi Road will be returned to Pojaman, according to Chaturon.

He said the party needed to reduce utility costs, and the current premises require high maintenance because of their size. Thai Rak Thai has also conceded it is no longer the "billionaire's party".

Nevertheless, even if the plan to move to Rajvithee Road goes head, it still has not been decided what the party should do with the IFCT Building - especially the library and the party's "1212" call centre.

"This will be dealt with by the party soon," deputy spokesman Pimuk Simaroj said.

Pimuk said he was not worried the party might have to move back to the old site. "I'm fine with it because I worked at Rajvithee before, so in my view it is like a return to our beginnings," he said.

Jatuporn Promphan, another deputy spokesman, said the party will move to Rajvithee Road in the next two weeks. He said the party has expenses of over Bt100,000 per month and as it is forbidden from holding any political activities under martial law, it has no need for such a huge headquarters at the moment.

"We want to use an area suitable for our activities. The next election is a long way off, and the headquarters on Rajvithee Road is our old home so it would be appropriate to return to our roots," Jatuporn said.

Sucheera Pinijparakarn

The Nation