Chaotic fall from strongman to 'square-faced tyrant'

BANGKOK - Thaksin Shinawatra once looked ready to step into the shoes of Malaysia's Mohamad Mahathir, now retired, and become Southeast Asia's economic strongman.

But after the tsunami in 2004, everything went pear-shaped. Now this 56-year-old ex-policeman is fighting for his political future while normally demure Bangkok schoolgirls denounce him as an ethically-challenged "square-faced tyrant".

Crowds gather outside shopping centres to decry the way their Prime Minister gave lip service to law and order, only to plunder Thailand's economy and allegedly pervert its democracy for the benefit of his family and corporate friends.

During Thailand's first bird flu outbreak, Thaksin mused about his student days working at Kentucky Fried, then dished up a fowl feast for his Cabinet and ordered it broadcast on TV. One of his biggest campaign contributors heads a poultry export firm.

Thaksin earned a PhD at a Texas university and taught classes at the Thai Police Cadet Academy. But in 1987 he quit to set up a computer dealership.

His fledgling company morphed into telecommunications conglomerate Shin Corp. It is now largely owned by Temasek Holding Company, the Singapore Government's investment arm, run by the Singapore Prime Minister's wife.

Thaksin's first term as Premier was nearly a non-starter after he was charged with concealing these business assets by transferring shares to his maid, chauffeur, and his doorman; he faced a five-year ban from public office before he was even inaugurated. But a constitutional court cleared him by a single vote.

Five years later, intimidated justices declined to rule on the new Shin Corp deal with Singapore, which has made Thaksin's elder son a billionaire.

A notorious 2003 anti-narcotics campaign spotlighted 2500 Thai drug users, who ended up dead after their names were put on official blacklists.

His heavy-handed reaction to militancy in three Muslim majority provinces prompted complaints that his generals have fanned a separatist rebellion that had lain dormant for 20 years. Some analysts fear this boosted recruiting for Islamists. To distract Thais from damaging political fallout, Thaksin has even made overtures to buy a stake in Liverpool Football Club for the nation.

- INDEPENDENT