Gaybutton Posted September 8, 2008 Posted September 8, 2008 Plenty of bizarre things happen in Thailand. This could wind up being in the top 10. Samak thus far has been able to resist the riots, the building take-overs, the media calling for his resignation, etc. Would you believe the thing that might finally do him in might be because he appeared on a cooking show? I would have thought the media could at least let us know what he cooked . . . besides possibly his own goose. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Samak's Perfect Stew (BangkokPost.com, with Agency reports) Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told the Constitution Court on Monday that he cooked for TV because he enjoyed it, not as a job for money - and the court announced it will rule on Tuesday whether he violated the law and has to resign. A judge at the tribunal said before Mr Samak testified that it will rule quickly on whether Mr Samak violated the constitutional ban on outside work by hosting television cooking shows. "I presented the cooking show and got paid for my acting," said Samak. He is charged with conflict of interest. If he is guilty, Mr Samak will have to step down, along with his cabinet. In his testimony, Mr Samak denied charges that he had broken the constitution by hosting a television cooking show while also serving as premier, claiming the programme had been done on a freelance basis. He was responding to charges made in May by a group of Thai senators, who charged Mr Samak with violating the constitution by continuing his job as a TV presenter on his personal cooking show, Chim pai, bon pai (Tasting and Complaining), after he had been appointed prime minister on Feb 6. Mr Samak appeared before the Constitution Court Monday to refute the charges. "I consulted with legal counsel after I became prime minister, and they all agreed it was not a breach of the constitution if I was not a regular employee of a company," he told the court. He said he had only hosted the show a few times after becoming prime minister and only on a freelance basis. "I did it because I liked doing it," Mr Samak said. "I was the first TV presenter to do my cooking right in the market, and it was delicious too." Sakchai Khaewwaneesakul, the managing director of the company that produced the cooking show, testified in support of Samak, saying it paid him 80,000 baht (US$2,300) for the four shows. "The presenters of our shows are not our employees, but we pay them honorariums," he told the court. Under Thailand's 2007 constitution, no elected politician is allowed to hold a second job while in office. The clause was designed to avoid conflicts of interest. Mr Samak, 73, a veteran politician with more than four decades of experience in Thailand's tempestuous politics, is also an accomplished cook. ____________________ And This: _____ Thai PM Testifies in Court over Cooking Programmes BANGKOK, Sept 8 (TNA) Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej appeared in the country's Constitution Court on Monday to defend himself regarding his hosting of a television cooking programme by doing which he is accused of violating the Consitution. Mr. Samak had hosted television cooking shows on a commercial television station in the past and continued after taking office in February. The premier's love affair with eating, cooking and the culinary arts landed him in trouble after a group of senators and the Election Commission (EC) petitioned the Constitution Court to rule as to whether his actions disqualify him from office by violated the national charter. Article 267 of the Constitution stipulates that the prime minister is prohibited from holding any position in a partnership, a company or an organisation carrying out business with a view to sharing profit or income, or being an employee of any person. Mr. Samak told the court that he appeared in the programmes only on a freelance basis, without seeking any compensation. The premier's appearance in the Bangkok court came amid a number of mounting pressures for the prime minister to resign as anti-government protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have occupied Thailand's Government House since August 26. The coalition of self-described democracy-activist protesters vowed not to disperse until the premier calls it quits. Mr. Samak was accused by the demonstrators of being a proxy of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who fled corruption charges to live in Britain with his wife and family. The court is scheduled to rule on the case at 2 pm on Tuesday (TNA) Quote
fedssocr Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 I believe the Reuters report noted that the food in question was coconut soup with salmon. You're right though that it is an incredible story. Could it be a bizarre way for everyone to sort of save face? I don't understand why the whole cabinet would be forced to resign. They weren't cooking with him... Quote
Gaybutton Posted September 9, 2008 Author Posted September 9, 2008 I don't understand why the whole cabinet would be forced to resign. They weren't cooking with him... Maybe they're the ones who ate it. The photo is from THE NATION Quote
