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Investments by SWFs can be politically risky too. In 2006, Temasek Holdings, an investment arm of the Singapore government, bought Shin Corp., Thailand's major telecommunications company, for $3.8 billion from the family of Thaksin Shinawatra, who at the time was Thailand's Prime Minister. Public outrage in Thailand over the sale of what was considered an important national asset to a Southeast Asia rival contributed to Thaksin's ouster as Prime Minister in a military coup in September...
...Thai voter who longs for the return of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, then Samak Sundaravej is your man. An acid-tongued, fire-breathing ultra-conservative who brands his opponents communists and "street gangsters," the 72-year-old former Bangkok governor is running in the Dec. 23 national election on a platform the rural masses find irresistible: as he unabashedly declares, "I'm Thaksin's nominee." Samak, the nominal leader of the People Power Party (PPP), has promised that if elected he'll bring back Thaksin and his populist policies, like cheap credit and debt moratoriums. Samak has vowed...
...Bangkok's middle class rose up to demand that the then coup leader, Gen. Suchinda Krapayoon, resign. Suchinda had the army open fire, killing scores in what has come to be known as "Black May." Samak, who was deputy prime minister, called the demonstrators troublemakers and communists, and said it was acceptable for the government to shoot them. After the King intervened and democracy was restored, Samak still won a seat to parliament in Bangkok's military-dominated Dusit district. During the late 1990s, he and Thaksin served as cabinet ministers in the scandal-plagued government of Prime Minister Banharn...
...With a half century in politics, Samak can't be taken lightly. Not long ago, his decades-old dream of becoming Thailand's prime minister seemed dead. Now, it may finally come true. But the star is still Thaksin. "I must grab his hand," says Samak, "and bring him back into the limelight." So long as Samak gets to share...
...party talks - between Washington and Pyongyang. An opportunity could arise, however, if North Korea demands more aid as a condition for continuing with the negotiations. "For Japan to pay, something has to be paid [to them] for the abductees," he notes, "even if it is just a fig leaf." Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda broached the abductions issue with U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit in November, but Bush has made no promises regarding negotiations with the North. In the meantime, the general public continues to rally behind the abductees' families, who insist that Japan continue to hold...