However, Thaksin’s reactions to the deal finalised on Monday prove that he is more than just an innocent father who lets his children run the Shinawatra empire alone.

Looking back at Thaksin’s recent responses to speculation about a possible sell-off deal after he, his wife and his children spent a four-day visit to Singapore during the New Year, he fooled reporters on several occasions.

“I only went to Singapore for shopping. I enjoyed the food and had a good time with my family.”

“I don’t know. You’d better ask my children. I’m not the owner. They are.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never told my children what to do. They normally advise me how things should be. They are the real owners. I still ask my wife for pocket money.”

On Monday, however, Thaksin turned into a “tongue twister”, who knew everything about the deal.

The premier explained the sale of his family’s controlling stake in Shin Corp was his children’s decision.

He went further with a claim that his children wanted him to devote his full attention to serving the country without fear over conflicts of interest.

Thaksin said his family had reviewed many offers before concluding the deal with the holding fund from Singapore, because it wanted to keep the conglomerate structure intact.

“After spending quite some time pondering the deal, my children decided to sell to the Singaporean fund because they want to see Shin Corp remain as it is,” he said.

Should one really believe that the twisted reactions concerning the sell-off deal arise from the same man who has held the prime-ministership for almost five years?

Should one really believe that his three children – of whom the oldest is his 27-year-old son Panthongtae – could possibly complete the Bt73.3-billion deal on their own?

Shortly after the deal was completed, Thaksin was questioned about exploiting his power to help his family evade income tax.

The premier angrily responded that the deal was a stock market transaction, which is entitled to income tax exemption, rebutting allegations of tax evasion.

With regard to his family’s business ending up being owned by Singapore investors, he said it was normal for capital to flow across borders, and Thai investors owned many businesses overseas.

He also dismissed speculation that the deal was delayed until last week’s enactment of a new law restoring the limit on foreign ownership in Thai telecom companies to 49 per cent. It had previously been capped at 25 per cent.

“The new law has absolutely no bearing on my family’s deal,” he said, with no further explanation. If Thaksin thinks the Thai people have got used to his twisted wordplay, which has proved such a successful tactic for almost five years, he should have second thoughts. Many people these days see through his two-faced character and believe that he prefers serving his own interests to that of the whole nation.

Your comments are welcomed. Forward them to the Political Desk at poldesk@nationgroup.com.

Political Desk
The Nation