You scratch my back, and I'll stroke yours

In 2004, the then-deputy permanent-secretary of Agriculture Ministry was made NESDB's secretary general - with Newin's blessings - and last month he became chairman of the Thai Airways board.

He was back in the spotlight last week when he became part of an NESDB panel set up to review the controversial Bt64-billion bus-leasing project proposed by the Transport Minister, a member of the Bhum Jai Thai Party. The board has been tasked with studying whether the buses should be bought or leased.

Affectionately called "Dr Kob" or Dr Frog, the 54-year-old is known to be smart, active and progressive. He is usually seen hobnobbing with the younger NESDB staff so he can keep up with the upcoming trends. He also does this so the younger generation can work closely with the executives, something that is appreciated and adopted in many government offices.

Newin and Ampon got close when they worked together at the Agriculture Ministry during Thaksin Shinawatra's regime. With his expertise in economics, Ampon was often called to work with Newin, then-Deputy Agriculture Minister.

"They were very close at the time. Ampon accompanied Newin every time the minister briefed Thaksin, whether or not he was involved in the matter," a former Thaksin government official said.

Some observers say it is not surprising that Ampon is so close to his former bosses. His "perfect" qualifications make him indispensable, so it might be wrong to call him a politician's lackey.

Besides, Ampon is an old hack at agricultural economics. He was responsible for international agricultural dealings and usually accompanied ministers to summits overseas.

Before getting close to Newin, Ampon impressed Niphon Promphan, who was Agriculture Minister during Chuan Leekpai's first term. Niphon, currently the PM's secretary-general, and Ampon are still close. In fact, the day Ampon was given the NESDB post, he called Niphon to share his news.

When the military ousted Thaksin in 2006, Ampon kept away from Newin. Though people thought he would be sacked from NESDB, Ampon proved that could work with anyone - even a military-installed government. He changed the names of some populist policies put in place by Thaksin and called off several others so voters could forget the former PM.

Later, under Samak Sundaravej's regime, he was reunited with Newin.

Some people say the two fulfil each other. After all, a smart guy needs an influential politician behind him.

Maybe these two have a rather "special" relationship, though we will see how special it is when results of the NESDB study of the bus-leasing scheme come out. Though we must not forget the rumours that Ampon might be made permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry - which comes under the jurisdiction of Newin's Bhum Jai Thai Party - in October.