Bangkok Post - February 14, 2008

Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab made headlines recently on his first day in office when he threw a Chinese banquet for 400 ministry officials on Chinese New Year.

He also pledged his first-month's salary to helping doctors being sued for malpractice.

Yet despite all the "goodwill", the first-time minister has experienced a bumpy landing.

Last Friday, Mr Chaiya returned from his first cabinet meeting only to be met by a boisterous protest against his plan to review his predecessor's compulsory licensing (CL) policy.

Former health minister Mongkol Na Songkhla approved patent busting for four key cancer drugs just before he left office.

Mr Chaiya said on taking office he thought the compulsory licences "might have been a politically correct decision, but [were] legally incorrect".

"Compulsory licensing is politically and legally correct," the noisy protesters informed the freshman minister.

The 50 or so health activists included people from a network of cancer and lung patients as well as people living with HIV/Aids. They eventually discussed the pros and cons of CL with the new minister, trying to convince him to leave the policy in place.

They are worried that any change would block access to life-saving medicines, especially for the poor who depend on universal healthcare coverage.

The state policy on CL, which allows Thailand to make or buy cheap copycat versions of patented Aids, heart and cancer drugs, is considered to be Dr Mongkol's masterpiece from his 16 months in office under the Surayud administration.

The policy won massive praise and support from health activists, but was denounced by pharma giants, which accused Thailand of stealing intellectual property.

But despite the support from health workers and activists, Mr Chaiya insists the compulsory licences approved for the four cancer drugs are not legitimate and that demonstrators should be aware of and abide by international trade law.

He said there were only 15,000 cancer fatalities in Thailand each year. Providing them with the patented drugs cost only about 500 million baht a year. This was a small cost compared with the potential losses in exports worth billions of baht that could be affected by the CL policy if trade sanctions were imposed.

The discussion between Mr Chaiya and the activists became quite heated during their 30-minute meeting.

One of the HIV/Aids sufferers said he might have to take weed killer instead of proper medication if the licences for the generic drugs were withdrawn.

Out of nowhere, Mr Chaiya retorted with appalling bad taste that he would rather take chan flowers - paper flowers traditionally used at a cremation - if he were HIV-positive.

When asked if he had been lobbied by pharmaceutical companies, he replied: "Drug companies aren't as rich as I am. Come and have a look at my house and you'll see."

The new health minister has so far been unable to win approval from the cabinet for a reversal of the policy. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Tuesday instructed agencies to meet and discuss the issue.

You can bet your bottom dollar that this will be a long battle between the new minister and health activists, since Mr Chaiya has made it clear he puts trade benefits over public health.

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Wanted - a safety guarantee

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return to Thailand sooner than expected if his safety is guaranteed.

A source said Mr Thaksin wants to return this month, not in March, April or May as earlier reported. Yet he is uncertain about his own safety even though those loyal to him won the election and became the government.

An army source said Mr Thaksin phoned his pre-cadet classmate, army chief Anupong Paojinda, who was a key member of the coup, and asked his old friend to ensure his safety.

"Seeking cooperation from Gen Anupong is a way but it cannot completely guarantee safety for Mr Thaksin because Gen Anupong cannot control all military forces," said the source.

Mr Thaksin fears that some people who want him dead are in uniform and the group he is concerned most about is soldiers who are ready to serve their boss even without being ordered. This is why his recent phone conversation with coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratkalin may not guarantee his safety, the source said.

"There was an attempt to assassinate Mr Thaksin before the coup," said a source close to him.

As the coup proved a failure and Mr Thaksin cannot be blocked from returning to power, the issue of the former premier's safety has been revived.

The source said Mr Thaksin's followers are approaching special warfare units to revive old connections with unit heads to secure Mr Thaksin's return. These approaches are being conducted by his team of bodyguards led by close aide Pol Lt-Gen Athakrit Thareerat.

The main targets are the special warfare units formerly under the direct command of Gen Sonthi.

This is why there are rumours that Mr Thaksin asked Gen Anupong to transfer to other positions those special warfare commanders whom the army chief cannot control.

The source close to Mr Thaksin said the former prime minster would return soon.

"It will be a dignified return at Suvarnabhumi airport. The time and date are withheld for safety's sake but everything is being prepared."

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A real test of 'togetherness'

The Democrat party has not led or been in a government for a long time but the country's oldest political party continues to hold together.

It has revealed that the secret to keeping united is the party's ability to reconcile the different opinions of its members.

As a political institution, the Democrats say they know very well not to cook up a recipe for disintegration by letting one person or family rule the party.

Core members contribute financially to the coffers and the leader supervises the overall running of the party. The party insists, despite arguments from a number of quarters, that all members enjoy equal opportunities to be assigned important posts in the legislative and executive branches.

Observers said that since the time Chuan Leekpai became party leader, the Democrats began to embrace unprecedented unity as its members had faith and confidence in Mr Chuan's corruption-free, untainted public image.

Critics of the party have also noted that the power structure in the party appears to be organised in a such a way that it may not be conducive for young political talent to make their presence felt among the decision makers.

But the party has also had its share of internal divisions and the latest test of "togetherness" came a few weeks ago when the party nominated its leader Abhisit Vejjajiva as candidate for prime minister competing with People Power party boss Samak Sundaravej. The contest was seen as only a formality for Mr Samak as the deal for him to become prime minister was sealed given the parliamentary majority support pledged to him by coalition parties.

The Democrat members had been split over whether the party should allow Mr Abhisit to wage what they knew from the outset to be a losing battle.

After sounding out views, Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban recommended the party put forward its prime minister's nomination in keeping with the spirit of democracy. He said the party had an obligation to offer a suitable choice for prime minister.

One day before the House session was held to vote on the new prime minister, the Democrats met to discuss the nomination issue with deputy party leader and Democrat MP for Phetchaburi Alongkorn Ponlabutr.

Several party MPs were opposed to the nomination. Among them were Songkhla MP Sirichok Sopha and Songkhla MP Thavorn Saenniem.

Mr Sirichok argued that the Democrats had earlier announced they would not form a government to compete with the PPP. If the party nominated a candidate for prime minister, the issue might be politicised by the media.

He reportedly felt there was not much sense in Mr Abhisit suffering an unnecessary defeat in parliament.

However, Chamni Sakdiset and many other Democrats said Mr Abhisit should go through with it because the party was answerable to the people who counted on it to fight even though it would lose. If the party had sat on its hands, it would have been tantamount to betraying the voters, he said.

Democrat MP for Bangkok Korn Chatikavanij, a close friend of Mr Abhisit, who backed the nomination, said 12 million people voted for Mr Abhisit in the Dec 23 election.

If the situation arose where Mr Samak, who is fighting legal charges, was removed as prime minister, then the public would ask the Democrats why they had not nominated Mr Abhisit.

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