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Published on September 8, 2007

Lydia, 20, who has been in the limelight since it was revealed that she is a close friend of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, told a press conference yesterday that she is certainly not his 'gig' but that the former PM is her father's friend.

The singer released her book "Lydia … Here I am!" yesterday and met the press for the first time since the news broke about her relationship with Thaksin.

It has not gone unnoticed that the title looks very much like a follow-up to the recent book on Thaksin - "Thaksin, Where are you?" - in which Lydia's name is mentioned.

But she was keen to clarify that the title simply meant "Here I am!"

Lydia did not link the two books, but said her title implied that "I am here to tell everything." However, she admitted there was some duplicated content in the two works.

The singer has been the subject of gossip thanks to her closeness to the man of her father's generation. Some say she is the "dream daughter-in-law" of Thaksin, while others questioned whether she was Thaksin's potential 'gig'.

Although Lydia has striven to clear her name amid the gossip, she wants the public to judge her through the words in her book. She thinks the gossip has been unfair and wants to put the matter straight. It has to be politically correct, as Lydia asked Thaksin for advice about her book before it went to print - and Thaksin read the draft the young singer sent.

"He knows I am launching my book today," she said.

Although Thaksin could not be present for his 'daughter's' important day, his son Panthongtae sent a bouquet of flowers to congratulate her.

In the book, Lydia talks about the light-hearted conversations with Thaksin, like what they eat and how they are doing today. She also confirms that the ousted PM phoned her the morning after the September 19 coup and told her that 'father' had lost his job. According to Lydia, she called him her 'second dad' and he called her 'daughter'.

Lydia portrays Thaksin as a man with a good sense of humour, despite his being ousted in the coup.

The book features snapshots, taken by Panthongtae. They include Thaksin pushing a supermarket trolley, having a snack on a footpath and posing with Lydia, the so-called Queen of R&B. All photos were taken after the coup.

Sceptics believe the singer has launched the book to boost her popularity and is simply using the relationship as a marketing ploy. But Lydia said defiantly that she had already prepared to write the book a year ago - long before news about her and Thaksin had spread.

Originally the book was meant to be about "her life and the entertainment world", but she decided to add a third part on her relationship with the ousted PM after rumours about their alleged affair emerged.

"It's not that I try to support him or want to promote his return. I just want to clear my name. I know nothing about politics and I have been close to him and the family for a year now. I also call Khunying [Pojaman] "Mae" [mother]."

Lydia said she spent most of her time singing karaoke or teeing off with Thaksin when he was stressed, rather than talking about politics.

Asked if he wants to come back to the Kingdom, Lydia said: "Yes, I think he'd like to return."

The press conference held at Zen received plenty of attention from the press and high-society people. Lydia was accompanied by her family.

Panthongtae's business partners in his How Come Entertainment came to support Lydia, while close male friend Matthew Dean gave her flowers.

The book is published by Poema Book, a subsidiary of RS Publishing, which is her music label, and was written by Pavitra Kasemnet, who interviews Lydia at length. The 208-page book costs Bt195.

Kitchana  Lersakvanitchakul,

 Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra

 The Nation