[Tlc] Fwd: Jakrapob: Who is He?

[Michael Montesano]

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THE BANGKOK POST
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=72529


A MAN OBSESSED

Jakrapob Penkair's unflagging loyalty to Thaksin Shinawatra has upset even
some of his closest friends

Story by KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI


Jakrapob Penkair addresses demonstrators who braved the rain at the
Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship rally at Sanam Luang, which started
on May 26.
After 31 days under rain and sun at the Democratic Alliance Against
Dictatorship rally, 40-year-old news analyst-turned-politician Jakrapob
Penkair was still fully fresh and fit.

His voice was clear and his face beaming.

"Tired? Not at all. I've never felt as sturdy as this before. This is the
most joyful moment of my life," Mr Jakrapob said, sitting relaxed in his
air-conditioned Toyota Sport Rider waiting for the next round of speeches on
Sunday night.

"The only thing that bothers me now is that I have no chance to swim. I like
swimming very much," he said, "but the fact that I've had to change my
safe-house everyday for the past month makes it impossible for me to go
swimming regularly as I do when I stay at my condominium."

It is his conviction that a person who does what he likes and fights for his
beliefs will always be happy and energetic.

When asked what he was fighting for, the close aide of deposed prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra replied: "I am fighting for democracy."

"And Mr Thaksin is the most vivid symbol of democracy," he added, "because
he came to power through a general election under a democratic system.

"So, I believe that protecting Mr Thaksin is also protecting Thai
democracy."

The PTV executive said leading the DAAD rally had added colour to his life.

"I have lived a very simple life, always acted politely and stayed in a safe
environment. This is a very good chance for me to taste the real
excitement."

He is addicted to politics _ outspoken politician Samak Sundaravej, a former
Bangkok governor, is a role model _ and says he is now ready to take a risk
by choosing sides.

"And by doing this I earn a lot of criticism and new foes, but I'm ready to
face up to this," he said, referring to his devotion to the fight for the
reinstatement of Mr Thaksin and his leading role in the anti-coup rally.

His strength came partly from the support he received from family members,
all of them strong supporters of Mr Thaksin and the Thai Rak Thai party.

The young-blood politician said he made his own decisions, each political
step of the way.

"I don't have a personal mentor. When I need help, I turn to textbooks, news
articles and academic papers," said Mr Jakrapob, better known among his
friends and close aides as "Ake".

"I study books and articles by a range of writers and thinkers _ among them
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, Pridi Banomyong, Jit Phumisak and
even anti-Thaksin academics such as Nidhi Eowseewong and Kasien Techapira,"
he said.

Since he began playing a leading role within DAAD over the last month, the
two books he has been reading are The Private Life of Chairman Maoand George
Orwell's political novel1984.

Born in 1967 into a middle-class family of five, Mr Jakrapob studied at
Satit Kaset school for 12 years before entering Chulalongkorn University's
faculty of political science.

Mr Jakrapob furthered studies with a master's and doctorate degrees in
economics at Johns Hopkins University.

After returning to Thailand, the politically-obsessed man worked briefly for
the Charoen Pokphand Group before moving to the Foreign Affairs Ministry's
information department.

While at the department, he also worked as a news analyst for some TV and
radio stations, but real advancement came when he served as the government's
anchorman reporting the Apec meeting in 2003.

Mr Jakrapob was appointed the government spokesman later the same year.
Since then he has never strayed far from Mr Thaksin.

A Satit Kaset school teacher who taught Mr Jakrapob from Mathayom 4 to 6
said he was "different" from his peers.

"He looked much older than the other students. The boy always acted like he
was a great professor," said the teacher who asked not to be named.

He wore thick eye-glasses, his school uniform was too big for him and his
hair was always neatly set with thick wax.

"Jakrapob was always being teased by his friends because of his weird
appearance," said the 62-year-old teacher.

"He was very good at acting when assigned to speak in front of the class,
but his ideas and points of view were not so sharp," the teacher recalled.
He won a number of awards in school-level debates. "Jakrapob is a good
public speaker, but not a good thinker."

A Foreign Affairs official who is one of Mr Jakrapob's best friends but
declined to be named described him as "easy-going and sincere, although he
has very few close friends".

"We love him because he is honest to his thoughts. If he likes someone or
something, he will readily make a sacrifice," he said.

The close friend conceded that Mr Jakrapob's mission as a staunch supporter
of Mr Thaksin had upset some of his friends.

"When we meet, we try not to talk about politics," he said.

"However, his political standpoint will not affect our friendship. His
friends will still love him as he is."

Although the DAAD demonstration has fizzled out over the past two weeks, Mr
Jakrapob said he did not think he and the other PTV executives who spearhead
the rally will lose the struggle.

But the form of the battle might change, from street rally to an information
war.

"We will continue our fight, whatever form the war takes," he said.

And if the situation turns violent and "this country has no place for me to
stand, I might apply for a job as a political lecturer in a foreign
university," he added.
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