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Published on October 29, 2007

 If Prachai Leopairatana, 64, were to become prime minister following the December 23 general election, a combination of populist and state welfare policies would once again reign supreme.

In an interview with The Nation, the leader of Matchima Thippatai party, which hopes to win as many as 120 House seats, said he aspires to be prime minister or finance minister, if his party and allies can form the next government.

Prachai, Thailand's biggest corporate debt defaulter in the late 1990s, said he had the most extensive experience in business and economic crisis management of all the party leaders and potential candidates for prime minister.

Besides Prachai, other leaders of medium and large parties include Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrats, Samak Sundaravej of People Power and Banharn Silapa-archa of Chart Thai.

"In the Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI) crisis, I was compelled to manage corporate debts, as well as my personal debt guarantees, amounting to over Bt150 billion. That's the biggest amount in Thai corporate history.

"Now, that decade-long issue is over, so I would like to turn my attention to running for public office so that I can use my previous experience to benefit the public.

"The Matchima Thippatai party is contesting the election with a total of 42 state welfare and populist policies. These policies will lead to free healthcare for everyone, including for some kidney ailments that are currently not covered by the state welfare system, and free education, plus free food and books for kids.

"In short, our welfare package will be more comprehensive than the previous Thai Rak Thai-led government. Then, we'll overhaul the budget system to separate the investment budget from the fixed expenditure budget.

"The problem is our current fiscal budget of Bt1.66 trillion is mainly for fixed expenses such as salaries (which altogether amount to some Bt1.2 trillion), leaving only some Bt400 billion for public investment.

"Such an amount is too small to drive economic growth so we have to come up with a separate investment budget financed by government bonds.

"Then, we'll help drive economic growth by launching more mega-infrastructure projects such as a total of 10 mass transit lines in Bangkok and the suburbs, the Kra Isthmus canal scheme, and double railway tracks nationwide.

"I believe the government needs to play a bigger role in economic development in a fashion similar to Singapore or Japan, so all these big projects are necessary if we want to grow the economy and create more jobs.

"Over a four-year period, we could nearly double the GDP from the current Bt7.7 trillion to around Bt12 trillion. This means our per capita income would nearly double from Bt110,000 to around Bt180,000.

"To combat corruption, I think we need to find the money to increase the basic salaries of civil servants because the root problem is that their salaries are too low and insufficient for a decent life," the former corporate titan said.

Prachai previously built the TPI group - now renamed IRPC - into one of Asia's biggest petrochemical complexes just before the 1997 crisis. Then, he spent nearly a decade fighting bankruptcy and moves by TPI's creditors to take over his multi-billion-baht business, which is now owned by a new group of investors.

"I have no [desire for] revenge. It's over. In fact, politics and business are similar in some aspects. As a corporate CEO, my goal is to maximise profits and look after my employees.

"As the country's leader, the goal is to maximise the country's wealth and ensure the citizens' well-being," he said.

Prachai also brushed aside public suspicion his political campaign was just a new massive investment agenda or a bid to regain control of the TPI, which is now overseen by state entities such as PTT Plc.

"There is no private economics in my political ambition," he said.

Nophakhun     

Limsamarnphun

 The Nation