Thaksin marks birthday with scholarships

"I doubt of Abhisit has the brains to keep up with my moves," Thaksin was quoted by his aide as saying.

Students can apply by submitting a personal essay on the topic of "Thailand as I Dream to See" to Thaksin's Thaicom Foundation.

Thaksin called his red-shirt supporters yesterday from Dubai to reveal what he described as presents to Thai citizens to mark his birthday on Sunday.

He said he had allowed the red shirts to hold a merit-making ceremony with nine monks giving him their blessings. No details of the event or its location were given.

As part of the "Bridging Thailand to the World" project, the D-television station will also start airing courses within three months for students preparing to enrol in universities, he said.

To ensure world-class education, each instructor would be paid Bt10,000 per hour and foreign tutors would also be hired, he said.

Plus he is putting down his turbulent experiences on paper, and will share his life lessons with fellow citizens in due course.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declined to comment on Thaksin's project, saying, "I've not acknowledged the issue yet."