"Sell the Shinawatra family's stake in Shin Corp," we urged the then embattled prime minister. "This is to avoid making people in the street jealous of the first family, which will otherwise remain the wealthiest in the stock market in 2006. And if there's to be a 'political accident' which can bring your tenure to an abrupt and disastrous end, the assets will be less of a worrisome issue."

Enough said. But to defend our news hounds and self-proclaimed pundits, we had broken the Temasek news a few days earlier, only to be dismissed flatly by the Shin Corp bigwigs, and the New Year wish list did mention an "accident", didn't it? So, it's better to refrain from any sort of attempts at prophecy this time round. The following "awards" are our light-hearted look at political events of a very depressing and turbulent year. They don't contain any hint of things to come, so don't read too much into them:

Best screenplay. The award goes to what was known as the "Deal of the Century". Temasek's takeover of Shin Corp started everything and changed everything. The charm of this masterpiece was that while one may have looked at it and thought, "Wow, that's brilliant", another might have seen catastrophe written all over it. Well, like they say, only success differentiates geniuses from the insane.

It's the most intriguing plot of the year anyhow, and it involved everyone from maids and gardeners of Thai politicians, to an obscure offshore firm, to Singapore's richest folks. Sangsit Piriyarangsan, a leading researcher at the Good Governance Research Centre, called the questionable and fishy dealings leading to the sell-off an "innovation" in corruption that involved exploitation of legal mechanisms, tax and stock-market experts, foreign nominees, as well as abuses of political authority.

Best score. "Ai Na Liam" (Square Face) won this hands down over the others. Inventive and invective, it was one of the most downloaded Thai songs of 2006 and got a four-star rating on Youtube. The oldie "Streets of London" was a distant competitor.

Best special effects. The "Car Bomb" won it simply because there were no other contenders. Even if there had been, the ability of those involved to sow so many seeds of doubt in what should have been made to look like a straightforward and no-nonsense assassination plot made them thoroughly deserving of the award.

Best comedy. Since the intention of the producers of "Car Bomb" wasn't clear, this award goes to "Look Who's Quitting Now", featuring post-election political events and starring Thaksin Shinawatra.

Best supporting actor. Candidates have climbed on top of one another for this one. Former deputy premier Wissanu Krea-ngam, former Cabinet secretary-general Borwornsak Uwanno and Newin Chidchob, all of whom starred in "The Quick and the Dead", were nominated alongside Prommin Lertsuridej in "Till Death Do Us Part". Suvarn Valaisathien and Sirote Swasdipanich (the revenue chief) won nominations for their buddy roles in the low-budget comedy "Payback? Over Our Dead Bodies".

The award, however, goes to Vasana Puemlarp for his work in the tear-jerking "Oh Captain, My Captain".

The judges simply ruled that he gave the notion of a "supporting" actor a most profound meaning.

("Oh Captain, My Captain" co-stars Prinya Nakchudtree and Virachai Naewboonnien were nominated as well but withdrew from the contest citing health reasons).

Best actress. Jaruvan Maintaka had been the hottest favourite until the very last day for double nominations in "My Fair Lady" and "Trouble Child". Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, who used her brief appearance in the "Unannounced Date" to maximum effect, edged her out to steal the award.

Best actor. Thaksin Shinawatra, the star of the blockbuster political epic "Me, Myself and My Nominees", was the undisputed nominee in this category. He won with ease. The movie's sequel, "So Near, Yet so Far" narrowly missed the best drama award.

Best director. Prem Tinsulanonda, who directed "The Usual Suspect", a suspense film featuring the plight of a man who was always thought to be behind big conspiracies in his country, was the controversial winner in this category.

Best picture. The dark-humoured film "Patriots" - a political satire in which just about everyone who pronounced his love for his motherland all but messed it up - clinched the award.

 Tulsathit Taptim