Newin: You don't need to be a PM to serve the country

Some said you were following the footsteps of Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, who owns a football club and is a prime minister.

Not at all. Owning a football club is not like selling other stuff that only requires money. One has to commit time to it. I don't think Berlusconi joins the footballers on the field like I do or sits under the rain on the stadium bench. I also don't know if he's really thrilled like I am when the team scores a goal, which is always a happy day for me.

Today I don't need to promote myself politically any more. It's also not about my finding time to do something while still stuck with being banned from politics. I wouldn't have invested so much if that's the case. Next year, around April or May, we'll get a 24,000-seat stadium on my land. All this comes from my money, several hundreds of millions in total. This is not about politics.

It might be a worthwhile investment to create an image along with the sport.

I don't need any image and that's not my intention.

Are you insisting you won't re-enter politics if your banned period expires?

No way, 12 years as a minister is enough for my lifetime.

But you haven't become a prime minister yet. Don't you want to become one?

No. You don't need to be a prime minister or minister to serve the country. It's about how you can make people who love you happy and have the opportunity to develop. The point is whether you think about the country or politics. Today I have been accused of always thinking about politics. I have been accused of, well, doing everything for political ends. But I insist I do it for the country. I have a view that is different from others. Many came to talk to me after I entered football [business] and ask me to be a president of this or that club. I said enjoy yourselves, because I don't ever want to hold bigger positions.

But your football fans are like your voter base. Don't you want to capitalise on it?

For me, in Buri Ram, I don't need to own a football club for the locals to know me. Nobody can compete against me in Buri Ram [elections].

But football makes your political base loyal.

Not true. Politics and football are on different wavelengths. Politics is about shared ideology, but football's about feeling for the same team. We celebrate together when we win a match.

But some politicians are following your footsteps in wanting to own a club.

It's mostly about putting their name as chairman of a club. But I call my coach first thing in the morning and ask how people are doing.

But isn't Newin interested in the Bhum Jai Thai party, the transfer of governors or whether the NGV bus project will be approved by the Cabinet?

I now think very little about politics. I care less than caring about whether some of my players are injured or not. It doesn't matter if the bus project doesn't get approved. I felt less sorry than when my team lost to Bangkok United. I couldn't sleep the whole night. Let the party handle politics. Whether they consult with me or not is up to them. I live in the world of football.

So it's 100 per cent for football? And how many per cent for politics, then?

Less than 25 per cent. My brothers and sisters at Bhum Jai Thai know that when the clock strikes 3, I'm off to the practice field and I won't pick up anyone's call.

What would you like to say to other politicians who may think about entering the world of football?

 I would like to say that you should be genuinely interested in helping to develop the sport. Don't think of exploiting the sport for political gain - if so, please stop and return to your politics, because it will become a vicious cycle that will drag down the sport. Because people who are involved in it are not knowledgeable and merely want to exploit it. That has kept Thai sports stagnant for long enough.