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This is understandable. As chairman of PTT, he acknowledges the company's problems in Map Ta Phut, Rayong. If all 25 projects of the group were to be suspended forever, it would certainly cut the company's financial performance, which would agitate shareholders.

Yet, most of his headaches are related to work. As a deputy Energy Ministry permanent secretary, he is in charge of a number of issues. Chief among them, the promotion of natural gas for vehicles. |It's tough, as people were - and many still are - frightened about gas-related accidents. He also needs to deal with taxi drivers and taxi owners, as the ministry is encouraging them to convert |from liquefied petroleum gas to NGV.

It's not surprising that in his circles he is known as "Mr NGV".

That's not the end of it. He is also dubbed "Mr CCO", which doesn't stand for anything |related to a corporate chief |operations position, but simply "chief change officer" - as the man who is always in charge of new things.

It's admirable that despite all his responsibilities and hard work, he can maintain his emotional equilibrium.

In the Map Ta Phut saga, he wittingly compared PTT to a fourth-year student asking for a degree before completing a summer course for more credits. The student claimed he could pass the test anyway, but if the degree were delayed his parents would be affected. (Yes, we all know that |PTT is asking for permission to continue with its projects with a commitment to follow all environmental rules to be enforced later on.)

On the pace of economic recovery, he compares it to the sand and the sea. Only at low tide, when the sea recedes and the sand is fully exposed, will we see the reality.

When the key performance index was the topic, he recited a long joke that he read from an e-mail. To sum up, a dead priest was destined to hell while a dead bus driver was sent to heaven. To the priest's surprise, it turned out while his preaching always made people sleepy, the bus driver while on duty always made passengers cry for God's help.

And Norkun ended that with a big laugh. A serious man can never |narrate jokes!