View Full Version : KhunPluem:Bkk Governor?
This English Language News program on Channel 11 (at roughly 2130, if they feel like it) is so profoundly mismanaged it has almost become worth watching for its comedic value. Check it out and watch for the following regularly-occurring features:-
1) Presenters who look like they are moonlighting. They often look like they have just climbed out of a taxi from the place of their main job. And I swear one of the ladies also annouces arrivals & departures at Don Muang. They also look like they have just been handed the script; or have bodged it together themselves in the taxi, after reading the Bangkok Post.
2) Presenters who let their own prejudices into their reporting on a regular basis - probably a moonlighter's survival mechanism.
3) Microphones worse than the cheapest karaoke mike you can buy in MAKRO. The commercial breaks also seem to have been recorded on the same completely wanked-out fake 25 yr-old SM 58s.
4) Video cameras that pixellate after each commercial break. One imagines that the presenters are aware of this, and appear to find their own distorted images amusing.
5) An almost tangible atmosphere amongst presenters that 'I don't really care if they throw me out' for saying something controversial.
6) Khun Natakorn - The Serious Playboy - My father as Central Bank Governor will probably allow me to carry on airing my own own prejudices as long as I like. And we get those so interesting insights that have so obviously come from Khun Por and his golf-playing chronies. Khun N probably knows his stuff, if he was only given the space to develop it into something a bit more wholesome & balanced.
7) Edward Enscoe - The Public School Bounder - who tends to let slip more than a few woolly liberal gaffes when a comedic interlude seems necessary.
8) Bland propaganda-ised reports on industry (The recently dreadful 'Story of Coal' sponsored by Mae Moh Mine) IT & tourism delivered in a complete deadpan bored manner by the old-timers; or by the sons of the rich & powerful just returned from American Universities. The latter seem to have even worse dress-sense than a completely stoned Koh Phanghan mushroom casualty; indeed the latest one seems to have a greater obsession with his own crutch than Michael Jackson & Elvis put together.
The list is endless! This is truly the most surreal program on Thai TV; even worse than the Dame Edna Everidge lookalike soundalike Khun Valerie on 'Morning Talk'.
With this sort of 'intelligent' broadcasting still on the loose, is it any wonder that 'politics' remains at the gutter level?
Picture this: Channel 11’s evening news in English – Newsline. We are watching the Bangkok Post’s sponsored Newstalk in which two slightly liberal playpersons are pitted against the supposedly heavyweight US-educated Khun Nattagorn. Bangkok Post sponsor this section as a means to advertise what will be in their paper the following day. The three newsreaders sit around & chew the fat on current topics. In fairness, the Sondhi issue is one of them; but somehow the three always seem to end up sneering at him, having only addressed how the government feels. Has it ever occurred to either Channel 11 or the supposedly independent BP that this sort of discussion is supposed to entail a balanced mix of non-newsreaders?
Khun Nattagorn usually manages to vent his full spleen whilst maintaining a face which indicates he is only joshing us; he obviously enjoys winding-up anyone who can't figure out that the only truth emanates from Texas university economics departments. The other two are obviously in awe of Nattagorn's power & status; and so confine themselves to jokes (that the studio director probably won't even understand) that are veiled indications that they somehow find Khun Nattagorn's views a trifle primitive. But no one wants to go too far to the left in an attempt to balance Nattagorn, for fear of losing their nice little moonlight earner. So it all ends up being pleasantly light-hearted.
The topic of a female politician comes up, as she is making some slight criticism of the government. Nattagorn develops a supercilious smirk which indicates he is having an ‘in-the-know’ joke with the studio director in full camera view. ‘Oh well, she’s very lefty you know. She’s always nice to me, but we don’t exactly see eye-to-eye on anything’; or words to that effect. He seems to be indicating that he moves in the same social circles as this lefty Khun-Ying; and that ‘hi-so’ tradition dictates that they must put on a polite & smiling face, even if they hate each other’s guts. After all, you can’t exactly diss a Khun-Ying or the son of the boss of the Bank of Thailand. Think of the wasted networking opportunities! But a quick sneer leaves us in the certain knowledge that she would have faced the ‘flaming tar-barrel’ years ago if it weren’t for the fact that she provides some amusement at ‘hi-so’ soirees. ;)
Baton Rouge
04-10-06, 12:56 PM
Channel 11's Newsline never gets any better, in the traditional serious sense. One of its occasionally redeeming features is that it sometimes discusses party factions in a bit more depth than the English language rags.
Last night's Newsline was a wonderful example of what you get if you pay peanuts. Nattakorn Devakul, son of the Director of the Bank of Thailand and almost certainly the son of the next Finance Minister, was putting on his usual bravado act. So much so, that I swear he was under the influence of something. If nothing else, he was unprepared and plain blustering his way through the job. He was practically banging on the table to emphasize his points.
Anyone else make the mistake of tuning in? In fairness, it has real comedy value too.
He very carefully managed to tip-toe round the fact that he is the son of someone who figured big in his own reports. He then proceeded to tell us that he would continue to be critical of the new regime, and told us how much he had actually hated the previous incumbant. Hardly professional stuff! Especially since I can never actually remember him being at all critical of important people in the past. Yes, he can be quite withering in his criticism of small fry, although I think 'distain of lesser mortals' might be a better description. And he certainly pressed home some criticisms of people who he obviously thought didn't really have his educational background. Not to mention pandering to other folks who he obviously thought were highly talented - and so probably in his cohort sometime in the past. He even went so far as to describe stock market news as essentially boring and not worth a damn.
I agree that NewsLine is truly the worst. The news readers - and especially Nattagorn - offer their personal opinions repeatedly at the expense of objective news reporting. They seem not to realize that we tune in to get the news and generally care not one whit for their personal opinions. Especially when they simply don't know what in Hell they're opining about. Nattagorn is a joke. He laces his comments with personal editorializing and gives some of the most specious "explanations" for his suppositions and conclusions imaginable. He may have gone to school in the USA, but it is bloody clear that he understands little about America. Thai people may buy his crap, but I doubt if many of the farang viewers do. I respectfully take issue with the description of him as "U.S. educated." He may have attended school in the USA, but he hardly seems educated to me. I speak as a former university professor. And, finally, what's with that Dude's eyes!? Could it be a symptom of ya baa, or what?
I view Sarosha (now with ASTV) in a similar light as Nattagorn. She is not obnoxious and pompous as Nattagorn, but she is certainly not the brightest light in the chandelier. However I do respect her for being involved with Khun Sondhi in his fight against the Square Faced Man.
I think two of the best in Thailand are a young fellow named Jay Bunnag and a young lady nicknamed "Honey" (can't remember her true name). As I recall, they have both appeared on Newsline in the past, often together. They both seem highly professional in my estimation and each has an excellent command of English. Top notch are they in my book.
Baton Rouge
05-10-06, 10:15 AM
Well, Nattagorn sometimes wears glasses on air. Why he can't wear them all the time on air, I have no idea.
When I come home from work, I want to get some idea of what is happening thru' moving pictures rather than newspaper pictures. And I don't have sat or cable. I treat Newsline as a way to relax and have a laugh.
We shouldn't forget the caddish and sarcastic Edward Enscoe, who is also a Bangkok radio DJ. And the tongue-tied Sikunya. Jay Bunnag is still a regular. (He is also being used for Colgate advertising) Not to mention 'Honey' [whose real name is something like Khaopunsa Narula ;) ]who was also the flight announcer in Domestic at Don Muang. She was on air last night. Strangely enough, she mentioned visiting Suvannaphoom. I hear that the new airport doesn't have flight announcements in international. Is this also true in Domestic? It might account for the fact that she obviously wasn't at the new airport on Day 1. I'll miss that familiar voice, if that's the case.
Nattagorn made some comments last night about the US calling on Thailand to drop martial law within 10 days. He seemed to take it as a personal affront and hinted that he is planning to air some expose of US participation in previous coups.
I don't get to see the program on a regular basis. That's partly because Channel 11 can't be arsed to air the program at a consistent time. When and if I view, I'll let you know if he follows thru' with his US coup plot expose.
I always suspect that Khun N is deliberately setting out to see how far he can piss off the Channel 11 bosses before they lean on the production company to pull him from the program.
Baton Rouge
10-10-06, 11:53 PM
Quite bizarre on Monday evening to see Nattagorn pretending to review impartially his own father's career as BOT Governor. Never once did he mention or hint that relationship. And an obseqious piece of reporting it most certainly was! Hey! I think the Guv had some good points too, but this was flat out ridiculous.
Tonight, he was going to look at possible BOT Guv replacements. He told us to expect frankness. But the floods stopped him from attending this evening. The show was much shorter as a result. Edward Enscoe made it quite clear to viewers that he was glad to get the opportunity to go home early. Shame Khun N wasn't there! It would have been hilarious to watch him blunder into criticism of folks who probably consider themselves as his father's trusted friends and colleagues.
Tettyan
01-11-06, 07:05 PM
seems like both father and son are in trouble now. is there anyone here who can sum this articel up? i'd take a stab it myself, but my thai's not that great, and i don't really have the time right now. thanks.
http://www.manager.co.th/Politics/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000134785&CommentPage=2&#Comment
Tettyan:
Both Devakulas in trouble
seems like both father and son are in trouble now. is there anyone here who can sum this articel up? i'd take a stab it myself, but my thai's not that great, and i don't really have the time right now. thanks.
http://www.manager.co.th/Politics/Vi...e=2&# Comment
I'm glad you pointed this article out, because about 15 minutes back Khun Nattagorn was using his Bangkok Post Newstalk section on Channel 11's Newsline as his own personal platform to pour scorn on the writer of this article and others.
http://www.manager.co.th/asp-bin/Image.aspx?ID=617074
Ex. Dept PM Pridiyathorn Devakul = The father
Nattagorn Devakul = The son
Nattagorn pointedly rebuked the writer of this article for contending that he was little more than the puppet of his father's ideas. This came in the middle of his lengthy rant on the hypocrisy of the interim government in relation to iTV's current problems. The criticisms were ones that have frequently been made before elsewhere, but - as always with Nattagorn - the style of their delivery was bordering on the childish. Personally, I can understand how he feels about many of the issues he gets hot under the collar about; and I know that under pressure I would almost certainly have reacted in a similar way. But what are Channel 11 and the Bangkok Post thinking when they allow a news programs to be conducted by this 'loose cannon' moonlighter. The other presenters also make their own feelings about issues pretty obvious, but are at least sensible enough to hide them behind a veneer of sarcastic indifference.
Nattagorn will almost certainly be removed from the program on the evidence of this histrionic diatribe. Indeed, he made it plain that he is expecting that himself.
I hope all this means that nattagorn will finally be thrown out on his arse. Good riddance!
Maybe I'll start watching Newsline again.
Bernie
BangkokPundit
06-03-07, 08:59 PM
I'm glad you pointed this article out, because about 15 minutes back Khun Nattagorn was using his Bangkok Post Newstalk section on Channel 11's Newsline as his own personal platform to pour scorn on the writer of this article and others.
http://www.manager.co.th/asp-bin/Image.aspx?ID=617074
Ex. Dept PM Pridiyathorn Devakul = The father
Nattagorn Devakul = The son
Nattagorn pointedly rebuked the writer of this article for contending that he was little more than the puppet of his father's ideas. This came in the middle of his lengthy rant on the hypocrisy of the interim government in relation to iTV's current problems. The criticisms were ones that have frequently been made before elsewhere, but - as always with Nattagorn - the style of their delivery was bordering on the childish. Personally, I can understand how he feels about many of the issues he gets hot under the collar about; and I know that under pressure I would almost certainly have reacted in a similar way. But what are Channel 11 and the Bangkok Post thinking when they allow a news programs to be conducted by this 'loose cannon' moonlighter. The other presenters also make their own feelings about issues pretty obvious, but are at least sensible enough to hide them behind a veneer of sarcastic indifference.
Nattagorn will almost certainly be removed from the program on the evidence of this histrionic diatribe. Indeed, he made it plain that he is expecting that himself.
I have seen the program. I was in hysterics. Do they remove him from the program? If so they will be accused of censorship which again he mentioned - it was almost as he if he was trying to push the limits. I am not so sure that they will remove him. Let's be honest who actually watches the show? The negative press coverage from removing him will outweigh any so called benefits. The English language press can get away with a lot more than the Thai language press can anyway (Chang Noi's latest is a prime example).
The only problem with Nattagorn is there is no opposite of him. If there was someone of a diametrical political view, the show would actually be interesting. Instead you have Nattagorn who expresses an opinion, albeit in his hyper manner. But the other two I have seen at various times on their own would be boring.
On Channel 11 and loose cannons, well they gave Sondhi his own show so it is hardly Nattagorn on his own.
Channel 11 is on in the background right now, and they're advertising Newsline at 10:30, which will probably pan out as 10:50 so they can broadcast a royal documentary that is totally wornout by replays.
Yes, it could all get swept under the carpet yet again. I was going to say that Sonthi Limthongkul can get away with it because of his high social status, but of course Nattagorn is a Mom Luang I believe.
BangkokPundit
07-03-07, 07:01 PM
Nattagorn is not just on Channel 11 as well. He appears on a morning newstalk type show with Sorrayuth on Channel 3. They often disagree and so do you openly get some divergence of opinion.
The problem is do they take Nattagorn off all programs or just Newsline?
He was alive on Channel 11 as of last night, and looking almost smug and chipper. But not tonight!?
Indeed, he was again quite controversial on the topic of both iTV and Saprang. Thus, he felt secure enough to say that Minister Khunying Dhipavadee Meksawan was "asinine" in her decision to remove some iTV equipment to the PRD. When the subject of Gen. Saprang came up you could almost see Nattagorn weighing the possibililities of himself ending up as roadkill. So he passed the buck quickly to Khun Srikanya, saying that he wanted to avoid getting worked up. He did, however, chip in the information - not heard elsewhere - that Gen. Saprang had called himself a hero in his defense against his alleged oversubscribed study tour to Europe.
Yes, I have seen Nattagorn on other channels. And he does look a bit more professional on them. But that's the point really. He arrives at Channel 11 after a long day. After the inevitable long delay while Channel 11 broadcast yet another grovelling video of absolutely no consequence whatsoever, Nattagorn comes on and vents his spleen of all the excessive bad humors he has built up over a day of dealing with about three different and incompetent TV stations. Thus, it's a bit like letting a drunk man loose in a Porsche Carrero. Indeed, the performance is so demonstrative on occasion that I do honestly wonder if he has been taking a quick tipple in the car between moonlights.
:) And looking distinctly unphased! He even alerted viewers to criticisms of him in the Bangkok Post Postbag. The correspondent was also slightly miffed by Nattagorn's co-presenter being addressed in a highly informal way as 'Honey'. Well it appears that her nickname is actually 'Hunny':
News presenters' remarks in bad taste
136 Na Ranong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand - fax:022403666 - email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th
Recently I watched a local news programme that comes on at 10.30pm. It is the only local news programme in English. It began with the newscaster reporting on an earthquake in Iran, and concluded by jokingly remarking that maybe they were being punished for their recent nuclear development activities.
I'm an American, not an Iranian, but this comment really seemed out of place.
Later in the show came a chat session or analysis on the day's news in the newspaper, featuring a man and a woman. Twice during this session he addressed her as "honey".
I can't watch news in Thai as I don't know the language. But I wonder if the Thai newscasts and discussions on other local TV _ the former iTV and other channels _ are this unprofessional.
CURIOUS IN MIN BURI
Bangkok
http://www.bangkokpost.com/120307_News/12Mar2007_news22.php
"Khun Pluem" resigns from Sorrayuths' programme
A popular newscaster Wednesday resigned from a much-followed television morning news programme for over-sensationalisation and tasteless coverage of crime news in Thai media.
ML Natthakorn Dhevakul said his resignation on Monday from Rueng Lao Choa Nee [This Morning's Tales] programme on Channel 3 did not result from any conflict he had with producer and news anchor Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda.
Natthakorn, or Pluem, did not particularly state whether Sorrayuth's news programme inappropriately overplayed crime news itself. But most news details read out and discussed in the programme among newscaters are taken directly from newspapers each morning.
"I am against the malpractice in the beginning, whether it's newspapers or television news, to give very details about crimes or women who are rape victims repeatedly," he said.
"Thai people are used to violence put in the mind unwittingly by the media, and now they have to hear everything reported again on television. The media elsewhere, or in developed countries, do not do such a thing.
"No newspapers have stopped such a malpractice, possibly because there is nobody influential enough to change it. I am not an influential enough person myself to make any change to what is reported again on TV. So I quit," he said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30036776
I've heard a lot of complaints about Sorrayuth recently.
One recent complaint is that he interviews people in such a way that terrorists get to know what the authorities are going to do next. For example, he interviewed an SRT official about the terrorist derailings in the South a few days back and got the guy to reveal maintenance and security procedures which might well have been used by the terrorists to carry out further track vandalism.
Another complaint is that when interviewing opposition figures such as Chaturon he deliberately edits out the negative stuff and gives the individual an easy ride. Thus there is a perception that he is pro-Thaksin and incapable of balanced journalism.
You also do not need to be the best Thai speaker in the world to figure that his programs dwell on the lurid details in an intrusive manner to the victims.
So perhaps some kudos to Natthakorn for having a few principles!
Divorce is always a sad thing. These two were made for each other!
Bernie
FarangBha
14-06-07, 10:53 AM
can someone put a face to the name?
This is Nattakorn Natthagorn Nattagorn without his customary glasses and snappy business suit. I have a feeling he may have decided to use contact lenses to improve his TV marketability, as he is beginning to get involved in stuff like gameshows where 'handsome' is all important to the predominantly female studio and home audience:
http://www.komchadluek.net/2007/06/14/images/6868512low_copy.jpg
[Photo: Komchadleuk]
And here's the Ruang Lao Chow Nee [เรื่องเล่าเช้านี้][This Morning's Tales] team before ML Natthakorn Dhevakul arrived a few weeks back. Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda is on the left. The show has its own Wiki entry too:
http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B 8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80% E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9 %89
http://i17.tinypic.com/5x3jofp.jpg
It appears that the viewers really prefer the banter of four fairly comedic people rather than intelligent news analysis by one fairly well-informed person plus appropriate guests.
BangkokPundit
14-06-07, 12:07 PM
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30036776
The second complaint is that when interviewing opposition figures such as Chaturon he deliberately edits out the negative stuff and gives the individual an easy ride. Thus there is a perception that he is pro-Thaksin and incapable of balanced journalism.
I often hear Sorayuth being accused of being pro-Thaksin, but I wonder why. When Sorayuth recently interview Surayud, was he asking him the hard questions? No. Did he attack Surayud? No. Did he say the coup was bad and we should have Thaksin back? No. Sorayuth also had Gen. Panlop on the program. Again, a soft-ball interview. You would think that if Sorayuth was pro-Thaksin, he would be attacking such people.
Sorayuth throws soft-balls, but he throws them to anyone with power and influence and that is why they came on his show. It is now like Hard Talk (BBC) or the Meet the Press (NBC). Then again, name a Thai journalist who asks hard questions and manages to talk to anyone with influence on the record? Thai journalists protect their sources. Look at any of the interviews in The Nation or the Bangkok Post, they are the same.
On the SRT official talking about train de-railing, whose fault is that? The journalist for asking the question or the SRT official for telling too much
I thought his former program Teung Leuk Teung Kon was of one of the better news-type shows in Thailand. You often had a panel with people of different opposing views talking about politics. Of course, you had sex/Thai culture/morality panels where the likes of former Senators from Khon Kaen and old fuddy duddy Thai academics were in the majority rambling on how Thai culture was under threat from this and that, but there were alternative voices.
On K. Pluem leaving, it just seems strange that he would up-and-leave over this. Him and Sorayuth don't have screaming matches, but they certainly do disagree on some points. Did the tension just boil over?
Notice these are complaints I hear. I have actually tried making your points to such complainees, and I notice that when you tackle them like this they always default to (hide behind) a patriotic stance. You know at that point you are completely wasting your time.
I entirely agree with your comments about 'softball' being the norm on political talk shows and others here. Suthichai Yoon does much the same, although he does pull the occasional corker on those he interviews. The classic being "Do you think you can control your Southern Mafias?" to an extremely uncomfortable Chaovalit - who couldn't even bring himself to deny that such people existed, but did eventually manage to say he could. :D :D :D :D :D
Another classic case was the Thaksin interviews carried out by Jakkraphob Penkair in both Thai and English. The questions were completely tailored for Thaksin's convenience. Not too surprisingly JP ended up as a spokesman for TRT not long after. We now see him in PTV trying to pass himself off as a barricade-storming radical. :D :D :D :D :D
FarangBha
14-06-07, 08:58 PM
Thanks. Good discussion.
An extremely vacuous interview, but probably worth listening to if you are laboring under the illusion that ML Nattakorn is a bright political hope for the future. The most I got from this is that he now drives a Nissan (The ads have been telling me that for the last two weeks!) and that he thinks it is inevitable he will end up in politics. :eek: This interview does not bode well for that move:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07/03/headlines/images/30039124-01.jpg
Interview with 'Khun Pluem'
The Nation Newswebcaster, Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra interviews ML Nattakorn Devakula, rising media icon of Thailand.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/sound/file/07070200.mp3
Right-Click and Save link as ... will save the mp3 file.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07/03/headlines/headlines_30039124.php
BangkokPundit
04-07-07, 12:52 PM
I see that K. Pluem has two shows (one multi-person talkshow and a gameshow) on Sunday. He was on the cover of Matichon weekly last week with the catchy headline "Pluem mai Pluem" which roughly translates as Pluem is not impressed.
He is now advertising Nissan cars and will be on a reality TV show called the Album (?), as a judge from what I understand.
I would bet money that he is positioning himself that he would enter politics in the future as he has increasing name recognition through a string of interviews he has given on all kinds of variety TV shows over the last few months.
This article is largely a precis of the interview, but it may be interesting to those who can't be bothered with the mp3s:
Nattakorn awaits his cue
The TV host and current-affairs analyst is mustering the money - and patience - he'll need to get into politics
Nattakorn awaits his cue
TV host ML Nattakorn Devakula isn't all that comfortable with the camera. Posing for a portrait, his smile has a bit of a smirk. The twist might be understandable: He admits his life hasn't been so easy lately.
"Since I've become more famous it seems that more people want more things from me, and with that comes more work and more pressure, so I don't actually enjoy my life the way I used to," he tells The Nation.
Being the son of former finance minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, Nattakorn is perhaps inevitably a target for criticism, and his inability to bite his tongue when the topic is politics doesn't help.
Nattakorn earned a reputation for reliable political analysis while co-hosting Channel 11's English-language show "Newsline". He weighs up the stock market on Channel 9 and the latest financial news on Channel 5, and writes a column for the Bangkok Post every Thursday.
Then he joined Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda's popular TV news-talk programme and the limelight expanded considerably. But things didn't go smoothly, and a dissatisfied Nattakorn left the show after a few weeks.
At the moment there's a Nissan Tiida TV commercial featuring Nattakorn that seems to be mocking Sorrayuth's show, airing immediately after it, in fact. It's an unprecedented move for someone who would prefer to be seen as a serious journalist, but Nattakorn defends it as "a form of artistic expression".
Expressive is a good word for Nattakorn, a born extrovert who found television to be a perfect outlet. He's edged into outright show business by hosting the game show "Black Sheep" on Channel 3 and is booked for three more adverts, but he swears that's the end of it - no more show-busy jobs after mid-July is his promise.
Not that it's "evil" to do that kind of work, he says, but if he's going into politics - and that is the plan - Nattakorn will have to command respect. In turn, he says, "I can't work with someone who doesn't respect me."
Nattakorn is a confident man, having acquired fame and money of his own, even if it seems he's had an easy life.
"I've achieved the unachievable," he laughs. "I have become more famous than my own father, so I am not overshadowed!"
Journalism is his forte, he says, just as banking is his father's realm. Nattakorn admits he wouldn't mind a bit more cash. "I have very little money - much of the money is with my father. I'm not saying I wouldn't want it, but I don't get it."
Nattakorn often talks to his father about politics and finance and that gives him an insider's perspective, but it's information he would never share publicly.
"When we discuss politics I'll say to him, 'This guy did this because of this', but he'll tell me, 'No, this guy did this because of that'. But few people know this is the real reason. The public doesn't get the truth."
For lack of absolute proof and hard evidence, Nattakorn can't share such revelations with his viewers and readers. That's a standard he feels has fallen among newspapers, which he says are getting out of control.
Television news offers more integrity, he believes, while the Internet - utterly free of monitors - worries him deeply. He frets over a "virus of unfiltered facts" being passed on to young minds.
Nattakorn's entry into politics can be expected in three to five years. He's already building a campaign war chest, he says, and mustering the patience and fortitude he knows he will need once he gets into such a "complicated" arena.
"Good people need to come into politics," he says. "The whole problem with this country is that good and capable people don't want to get into the dirty mess, so they leave the political games up to the same old folks. You get a lot of people wanting to help, but in the end they say, 'Politics is not for me'.
"But I am thinking differently. I am thinking that I can make a difference, even if it's only a small difference. It's something I've thought about ever since I was young."
Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra
The Nation
Link may expire:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07/09/lifestyle/lifestyle_30039862.php
16 July 2007
M.L. Nattakorn Devakula meets with Democrat Party leaders
M.L. Nattakorn Devakula (ณัฐกรณ์ เทวกุล) met with the leaders of the Democrat Party today though he declined to reveal the purpose of his visit.
Famed television program host and son of former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakul (ปรีดิยาธร เทวกุล ), M.L. Nattakorn Devakula (ณัฐกรณ์ เทวกุล), met with Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and Democrat Party Secretary General Suthep Thuagsuban (สุเทพ เทือกสุบรรณ) for more than 3 hours today (July 16). M.L. Nattakorn declined to provide the full details of his visit to reporters and only revealed that he aims to invite Mr. Abhisit to attend a television program to report on the Democrat leader's future plans with his party.
M.L. Nattakorn earlier announced his interest in participating in politics and has received invitations to join several political parties. M.L. Nattakorn is currently considering which party to join.
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255007160035
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=125
Double standards against protesters
M.L. Nattakorn Devakula
26 July 2007
It is absolutely acceptable and within legal confines to use water, tear gas, or even pepper spray to disperse crowds of protesters who decide to intentionally take a violent turn.
When mobs of people gather to instigate violence by verbally insulting and physically assaulting police or military officers, the officers reserve the right to retaliate to bring down the assailants on the spot.
To say that basic individual rights are violated in these instances is tantamount to saying that you can violate the integrity of officers of the law.
Be that as it may, what we have been seeing, and including most definitely this past Sunday, must be explained further.
Marches by protesters can certainly take place in a democratic society. We have seen them in most countries from the most to least developed around the globe.
The motive behind the crowds' attack against officers on the eve of this past Monday was that they could not move on their march towards the residence of the Privy Council president. The question is then posed: What legal rationale did police have to prevent the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) - formerly known as the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) - from heading to where they wanted to go?
Dating back to the massive protest gatherings of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the 50,000 or so folk who came out to rally against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, were for the most part mobile.
Their mobility was aided by police officers who guided movements of crowds from Sanam Luang to Ratchadamnoen Road, from Ratchadamnoen Road to the Equestrian Monument, from the Equestrian Monument to Government House, and so on. Throughout the year-long attempt to ask for Mr Thaksin's resignation, police had almost always cooperated with the movements of protesters. The military never uttered a word about protesters and how they created divisiveness in society.
The role of all branches of the armed forces is now completely the opposite. Instead of facilitating protesters' mobility, officers of the law have now become "blockers" of protesters' ability to move.
To make the point clear here, this article does not differentiate or discriminate in regard to the motives of the PAD and the UDD - for both have different political aims. Whether the aims are justifiable or not depends on where one stands politically. Although one cannot help but remember the incident where the first movement of the then-nascent PAD carried over to Government House, all the way from Lumpini Park, to forcibly enter into the compound. Charges were later dropped against the participating individuals and the main perpetrators. I doubt whether authorities today would drop charges against UDD protesters if they, too, decide to push open the gates of Government House.
As a country, Thailand has never been able to contain mob gatherings. From small ones like the Assembly of the Poor and the Pak Moon Dam protesters, to medium-sized ones like the Egat labour union and the anti-Thai Beverages Plc listing group of Chamlong Srimuang and the Dhammakaya. Needless to say, when we have large protest rallies like those of PAD and UDD, it is not even worth asking whether we are able to control or contain them peacefully.
What must finally be made clear and resolute is the standard for all mobs. This standard of practice must be just and equal for all and applied in the same spirit. If Sondhi Limthongkul and Suriyasai Katasila's PAD were able to move on to Siam Paragon on Rama I Road, should Weng Tojirakarn and Jakrapob Penkair's UDD not be able to move on to the Si Sao Thewes residence of Gen Prem? Had police tried to prevent the PAD mob from marching back then, would there have been a clash early last year that could have potentially been similar to the one we saw last Sunday night?
With few exceptions, the office of the President of the Privy Council must not be violated. There is little doubt about that consensus. And, as a respectful Thai citizen, throwing rocks and other hard objects into sacred compounds and residences of innocent bystanders is deemed completely inappropriate. Yet society must come to grips with the reality of the situation, that there is discrimination against crowds of gatherers with different political objectives. This is not to say that crowds of protesters should always be allowed to move, nor to say that they should be dispersed violently.
The standardisation of practices against protesting crowds would also assist in the implementation of policies. For example, several months ago anti-coal plant activists gathered to lock down a public hearing that would've sought the public's advice on the construction of a power plant. A carefully thought-out and an indiscriminately-implemented codified modus operandi on mobs would strengthen the country's ability to move quickly on developmental projects as well.
Perhaps all that has been mentioned here represents too much optimism when one is aware that the very authorities in charge of controlling these mass movements are sometimes monitoring them for alternative purposes. The Army usurped the power of the PAD, taking advantage of a massive 100,000 (or so they say) anti-Thaksin gatherers, as a launch-pad for the coup e'tat.
It is truly hoped that the Army has better plans ahead for the anti-dictatorship UDD protesters as we move closer to politically cataclysmic dates like the constitution referendum and election.
Hopefully, after all that has been said and done this year, this country will finally find a way to treat all protest gatherings fairly and without seeking out opportunities.
[The writer is a news analyst.]
Source: Double standards against protesters- Bangkok Post
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Wisarut
23-03-08, 10:40 PM
Sor Jed and teh Gang This Week:
Now, Sor Jed has attacked "Khun Pluem" (Mom Luang Natthakorn Dhevakul ) who has his face like a catfish for the following shortcomings:
1. He lambasted Bangkokians who vote for Khun Raksana Tohsirikul as newly elected Senator from Bangkok as "bunch es of Airhead Bangkokians!" This kind of RUDE manner of "AI Pluem" is due to the fact that he had not brought up by his parents since his daddy and his mommy had separated ... so he had been brogut up by maids, butlers, and nannies who know NOTHING about how to brought up children of the aristrocrats in very apropriated manners.
The details of Ai Pleum's insult to Bangkokians can be sen here:
http://www.manager.co.th/Politics/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9510000032020
2. Even worse, AI Pleum have ben brought up within Farang Environment, so he has become too AGGRESSIVE in the eyes of fellwo Thailanders! :eek:
3. WHen he has beocme TV Host, the guest in the talk show have to make a ROyal Asking to him before gettign a permission to talk with him!
4. He also a skirt chaser .... who have very little success to catch any girls ... when he catches a firl ... he just bring her back to the gir;l's home ... but refuse to pay for taxi cabs ... after that he just brign that girl to entertain him inside the restroom ... without paying back to her any single Satang .. He also refuses to pay the restaurant bill for the girls he brought with him even though he is SUPPOSED to do so ..
5. He want to become a politicians like E Phen (CHakkraphonb Phenkhae)
SOr Jed also pointed out that when E Phen has not ben in the limelight, he has lived in Samranratj area ... and sleep with beefcakes as the way to survive ...
Furthermore, the poster has pointer out that the golf field run Father of Noo Lidia is nearly BANKRUPTED ... and Ai Pheng (friedn of Noo Ldia's Father) has asked Ai Maew to bail out ... with a condityion that Noo Lidia
has to become a "friend" of Ai maew ...
Ai Maew DID bailed out the Father of Noo Liada ... purchae a new house for Lidia at the price of 30 million Baht in cash ... and Mr. Matthew (a teen idol who is also a boyfriend of Noo Lidia) has to ACCPET the fact that AI Maew got his girlfriend ...
// ----------------------------------------------
More on AI Pluem:
1. His mother who work as a maid for the Dhevaluk family wanted to be "Mom" (wife of princes or noblemen) ... so she did sleep with AI Pluem's father ... but he did noty hav a good lookign trace from his mom ...
2. When His father abandon his mom and him, his mom had to go to USA to make a new life ... with tennis coach Beaverton, Oregon to get a green card, and then his mom devource with the new boyfriend ... Ai Pluem did grow up with Amarican junkfood ... to become big after being too thin too small when he was in Siam ...
3. Ai Pleum's elder fatehr has to live in dormitory of Washing State University (WSU) before movign to 11th street in Seattle ...
4. AI Pleum DID keep title "Mom Luang" depiste of the fact that his mom came from very low class ... Many Thai students still call Ai Pluem as "sone of Mamasan [or Madam of the bordellio]" and The Yank called Ai Plem as "Chiat"
5. When he run the TV host show, he did EXTORT money from the one who joint with the talk show ...
6. Many of thsoe Mom Ratchawongse and Momluang said that the Young high society male generally have the first wives from his own maid ... since those maid are willign to sleep with thsoe princes to get better life.
Those children of princes and his maids also generally ARROGANT due to his own inferior Complex .. becomign rude brats from theri mom who are the maids .... and have sexual abormalities from his high society dads ...
Thsi could refer to Tha Cha Kob of Lopburi Palace who was poisoned by Mom Look Pla ...
Nebvertheless, some peole said that AI Pluem's mom is a beautiful woman with Bachalor degree
7. Now AI Pleum is FIGHT Back ... according to the interview with Kom Chaluek (22 march 2008)
REF:
http://www.manager.co.th/Entertainment/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9510000032452
http://www.komchadluek.net/2008/03/23/x_sat_q010_195122.php?news_id=195122
See also post on Khun Pleum, on the subject of Thai railway projects:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=20478&postcount=75
Tettyan
24-03-08, 07:13 AM
I'm not a fan of Mr Pleum's politics or his programming. Like many of you, I also found the column to be at least mildly amusing, since the way I see it, he brought these attacks upon himself. And while I don't disbelieve much of what's being said here, I believe that there are some aspects of this that are worth addressing, to set the record straight, especially concerning the hearsay being spewed about his mother (no, I don't know her personally, but we do have some mutual acquaintances).
2. Even worse, AI Pleum have ben brought up within Farang Environment, so he has become too AGGRESSIVE in the eyes of fellwo Thailanders! :eek:
Well, as someone who grew up in a bi-cultural environment myself, I wouldn't attribute his "aggressive" personality to being brought up in a "farang" environment. I can assure you that many "farang" find his behavior just as offensive. Rather, I attribute his aggressive personality mostly to extreme immaturity.
1. His mother who work as a maid for the Dhevaluk family wanted to be "Mom" (wife of princes or noblemen) ... so she did sleep with AI Pluem's father ...
Nebvertheless, some peole said that AI Pluem's mom is a beautiful woman with Bachalor degree
This I know to be true.
Seriously though, I think criticizing Pleum is fare game, esp since he's done so much to make an ass out of himself. But for Christsakes, leave the kid's poor mother alone.
REF:
http://www.manager.co.th/Entertainment/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9510000032452
http://www.komchadluek.net/2008/03/23/x_sat_q010_195122.php?news_id=195122
See also post on Khun Pleum, on the subject of Thai railway projects:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=20478&postcount=75[/QUOTE]
“The very rich are different from you and me.” “Yes, they have more money.”
Harrison George
30 May 2008
Alien Thoughts
I really had no idea how difficult it was to be rich in Thailand.
M L Nattakorn Devakula, in his last column for the Bangkok Post before a ‘semi-political’ break, relates his experiences in pretending to be an elected politician (or perhaps that should be ‘rehearsing’?) and trying to file a declaration of assets.
It took him all week.
And I have to admit, from my non-rich background, that this is a lot longer than I spend with my hand down the back of the sofa looking for loose change to pay the (up and down again) bus fare. I always assumed that the rich never needed to grope. Or at least paid someone to do their groping for them. It was a shock to discover how time-consuming wealth can be.
First of all, M L Nattakorn had to locate the passbooks for all his bank accounts, ‘even ones with very little money in them’. Now many of us will have some sympathy with that. Bank accounts with very little in them are all too common these days. But it’s clear that M L Nattakorn’s problem isn’t the small amounts, it’s the large number of accounts, and some, obviously, have more than a little in them.
And it was ‘fun’, he says, to get them updated. And discover just how much unearned income he’d just, er, un-earned. But there the ‘fun’ ended. He next had to list all the plots of land that he owns. Including those that have been given to him and he doesn’t know about!
Imagine the distress this causes. You may own property that you don’t know about! How can the nasty NCCC then expect you to declare what you don’t know? What a ridiculous bureaucratic attitude this betrays, expecting people to know what land they own.
But you are supposed to pay tax on this land, no? I mean, couldn’t you just collect the tax receipts? But that’s by the way.
The headaches don’t end there. He’s now got to list his share-holdings. And again, he can’t be sure of what he owns. ‘Just the other week,’ he writes, ‘I found a shares-ownership certificate in an old drawer.’
Now, on the ‘old drawer’ bit of that I’m with him. I mean, T-shirts with ‘UN Fun Run 1993’ on them, yes, I admit I’ve probably got things like that lurking in the bottom of my old drawers. Together with my old drawers. But forgetting that you have shares in a business?
And this is where I begin to sense that we’re not maybe singing from the same hymn sheet. M L Nattakorn talks of ‘the real world, where the ownership of shares is a very normal and mundane practice’.
Now we know it’s normal and mundane for people like ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his family. And even for his maid and driver and gardener, of course. But I still think that this is a rather small ‘real world’. The vast majority of people in this country don’t own shares. And of the tiny minority that do, I would guess that the biggest number do know what they own.
And M L Nattakorn’s worries still aren’t over. He has to get his ‘house and car re-valued’. And that really is a shock. Only one of each? And then his bottles of fine wine, his watches, his jewelry, - is there no end to this?
And then an MP or Senator would have to go through it all over again for the spouse and any dependent children. (Mercifully M L Nattakorn seems to have managed to keep count of how many of these he has.)
Invasion of privacy, he cries. Well, yes. Except that by choosing to be a representative of the people it sort of goes with the turf. You want to keep the number of your shares, houses, Rolexes and wives secret, then just don’t stand for office.
Ineffective, he claims. What corrupt politician is dumb enough to stash his ill-gotten gains in a bank account the NCCC already knows about? Well, there’s a Deputy Prime Minister who was dumb enough to make a duff declaration for which he paid the price, and some of us are still not convinced about that share-out of shares among the Shinawatra domestics.
And a public declaration is exactly the point. How do the fruits of corruption get hidden in a non-transparent system? Very easily. And in the system we have now? Much harder. Everyone who thinks they know about something you own can check what you’ve listed and if it’s not there, you’re shopped.
But the exercise is obviously far too stressful for a semi-politician-to-be like M L Nattakorn. Even if it has been a dry run, it’s clearly been too much for him, it’s even affected his reasoning.
So, in a magnanimous sacrifice on my part, I am prepared to solve his problems.
Dear Khun Pluem (I can call you that, can’t I?), any time you need this burden lifted from your shoulders, just transfer all your assets to me. And I will suffer in your place.
As much of it as you know about, of course.
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=657
Khun Pluem's thoughts on the TITV/TPBS-TV fiasco:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=19433&highlight=Pridiyathorn+Devakula#post19433
Oh No! Not another dilettante Bangkok Governor. Did Samak teach us nothing!:
Eyeing city governor
By Budsarakham Sinlapalavan
Daily Xpress
Published on June 4, 2008
TV personality Nattakorn is considering standing for the Bangkok governor's election. Will his remarks on Senator Rosana return to haunt him?
A man who recently suggested that Bangkok voters "were not smart" to elect a consumer protection activist as senator plans to put himself on the electoral firing line at the upcoming Bangkok governor's election.
ML Nattakorn Devakula, a television personality, told Daily Xpress yesterday, he was thinking seriously about making his foray into the political arena and contesting the election.
His comment "Bangkok voters should have been smarter", about Rosana Tositrakul's victory in the Senate election, sparked uproar among her supporters.'I didn't call them stupid'
Reflecting on his remark, he clarifies, "But I didn't called them stupid."
Rosana declined to comment about Nattakorn's bid to be the next governor.
Nattakorn is likely to face an uphill battle. His statement on Rosana is may return to haunt him when he hits the campaign trail. And he could certainly count out people from the entertainment industry, cab drivers, food vendors, beverage distributors and others who make their living from night life.
He plans to crack down on the night-life areas, especially places where prostitution takes place. He didn't say where he would start.
Nattakorn says prostitutes have ruined Bangkok's reputation.
Interestingly, former massage parlour tycoon-turned-politician, Chuwit Kamolvisit, has also announced his candidacy for the governor's post.
Publicising his policies
Nattakorn also vowed to improve the manners of bus conductors in the capital "simply because it needs improvement".
The young son of former finance minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula has shown interest in entering politics. He tried the Democrat Party but was rejected, according to party sources.
Nattakorn also does TV commercials and has a reputation for having a holier-than-thou attitude.
Nattakorn, however, said if high-profile figures like Purachai Pium-sombun, Somkid Jatusripitak or Banthoon Lamsam decided to become a candidate, he would pull out.
Undecided yet, Nattakorn said he planned to publicise his policies first, then figure out how to get votes later. Nattakorn said he wanted to be in control and would not ask any political party to back him.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/06/04/headlines/headlines_30074733.php
Thread on the election for the next Bangkok Governor:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=21422#post21422
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