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Published on November 25, 2007

Some elements of Thaksinomics, which prospered from 2001 to 2006, have apparently sprung back to life in recent weeks - thanks to the brilliant communication skills of Mingkwan, the former director of MCOT and a senior executive of Toyota Thailand.

Ming-kwan, now a sought-after guest on TV and radio stations as well as other mass media outlets, is skilful in selling complex policies in simple terms to the layman. For instance, he could extrapolate the benefits of the tourism sector or gasohol beyond any other contesting politician's imagination.

On tourism, he has asserted that the industry has the potential to generate as much as Bt1.5 trillion, or 4.2 times more than its present revenue of Bt350 billion per year, so the new government should turn to tourism as a major source of revenue and driver of the economy.

In his opinion, tourism is a good economic equaliser due to the trickle-down effect, meaning that not only will the government get increased tax revenue from tourists, but the little people at various tourist destinations around the country will also benefit.

On Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, Mingkwan said he would support Suvarnabhumi becoming the country's only international airport, with Don Muang handling only domestic flights or serving as an air cargo or low-cost airline hub.

As far as further expansion of Suvarnabhumi is concerned, he said mega-projects like this one, or those concerning the expansion of several mass transit lines in Bangkok, should be "reprioritised".

Concerning skyrocketing oil prices, he said motorists should turn to the cheaper E10 gasohol, 10 per cent of which currently contains locally-produced ethanol, or biodiesel, so as to help reduce the country's oil import bills (about Bt800 billion to Bt1 trillion per year) by up to 10 per cent for petrol alone.

The new government will have to encourage more converts with a clear message that switching to gasohol is also good for your pocket since there is a savings of Bt3.5 per litre.

The next step, as already laid down by the outgoing Surayud government, is to encourage motorists to move up the ladder to use E20 gasohol, 20 per cent of which will contain locally produced ethanol, while another choice is to turn to indigenous NGV as an alternative fuel. Calling "Thaksino-mics" the original brand of populism, Mingkwan said a new and improved version has been concocted and he wants to ensure that opportunities and adequate funding are readily available for the grass-roots people if the People Power Party wins the election and forms the new government.

Mingkwan also said that wisdom and sustainable development are key components of the new populist policies being touted by the People Power Party. He tried to deflect the idea that populism also heavily relies on clever marketing gimmicks and other tactics to gain votes from weary and disadvantaged supporters.

After all, Mingkwan is understood to be working directly for the "big boss" in London during the campaign, as virtually all other persons with economic management experience have either left the Shinawatras or fall under the Constitution Tribunal's landmark ruling banning 111 former executives of the Thai Rak Thai party from politics.

For this general election, which is now less than a month away, the big bosses shouldn't be too serious about winning another landslide and forming the next government from afar or about who the new finance minister should be.

Maybe they're just happy that Mingkwan, the economic point man in Bangkok, has been quite successful so far in rekindling their previous brand of populism among die-hard supporters.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

 nop1122@yahoo.com