Suchat targets BOT

Suchat's tactic worked. On Thursday, several papers published a photo of him holding the bus rail along with other commuters on the free bus. The free service for Bangkok residents was among the six measures announced by the Samak Sundaravej government to ease the impact of higher oil prices on low-income residents. Wearing a yellow necktie, Suchat took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves for the ride. Suchat would have easily blended in with the crowd had it not been for the group of photographers accompanying him for this special photo-op. The photographers, however, did not wait to see whether Suchat also took the bus for his trip home.

Despite his attempt to create an amicable image, Suchat is less than friendly when it comes to the Bank of Thailand. He has been a stanch critic of the central bank's interest-rate policy. Yesterday, Suchat issued a stern warning to Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase, saying that if the central bank still refuses to succumb to political pressure and keep the rate low, her days at the central bank may be numbered.

During a seminar held on Thursday, Suchat said: "So far, the monetary policy of the BOT governor has been in the opposite way of the government's policy. The government wants to stimulate the economy, but the BOT has done the opposite." He added that he would discuss this issue with Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee and Virabongsa Ramangkura, the chief economic adviser to the government. Both Surapong and Virabongsa disagree with the central bank's high-rate policy.

Suchat, 55, is an economist by training. An associate professor at Ramkhamhaeng University's Faculty of Economics, Suchat earned a bachelor's degree of economics from Thammasat University, a master's in economic science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a PhD in economics from McMaster University in Canada.

Suchat also has experience in the private sector. He was a director of the Petroleum Committee and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has held many other positions.

Currently he is the director of the audit committee of PTT, the director of PTT Aromatics and Refining, and the director and chairman of Audit Committee of Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding. He is also the director of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of Siam City Bank.

In November 2000, he was named Thin Thai party's economic chief. He was tipped to become the finance minister then if the party managed to join the coalition government. But Thin Thai, led by Pichit Rattakul, failed to collect enough votes to become part of the government.

Nonetheless, Suchat was instrumental in forming the party's policies, which were aimed primarily at pleasing voters. For instance, the party proposed a debt moratorium with the International Monetary Fund, as well as Bt200 billion in saving bonds for the public with a 6-per-cent interest rate.

Now, Suchat is on a mission to target Tarisa on behalf of the Samak government. Although the government has repeatedly said it disapproves of the central bank's interest-rate policy, it might not really place such a high importance on the interest rate as the central bank's role in controlling state banks. That is because the government aims to draw money to support its populist policies so that the fragile coalition will be able to survive - albeit in the short term.