Dejnattawit keen to reconcile
Boonsong Teriyapirom’s son hopes to become a Chiang Mai MP for Pheu Thai, and reinvent politics in the process, writes Aekarach Sattaburuth
Dejnattawit Teriyapirom aspires to reinvent politics and be part of a new generation of politicians by putting political conflicts behind them and working together to steer the country toward a brighter future, he said this week.
Mr Dejnattawit is the son of Boonsong Teriyapirom, who served as commerce minister under the former Yingluck Shinawatra government.
The Pheu Thai Party recently unveiled about 30 young politicians as new members, mostly the offspring of current members and academics.
“New-generation” politicians have been recruited to replace former MPs who left Pheu Thai to join other parties.
Among Pheu Thai’s young politicians is Mr Dejnattawit, 28, who is tipped to run in the next election as a constituency candidate in Chiang Mai, where his father was elected as a former MP on the ticket of Pheu Thai.
Pheu Thai is struggling to stop the defections of former MPs to other parties as they keep being poached by a political group calling itself Sam Mitr (Three Allies), which is said to be the military regime’s recruiting arm.
The group has been accused of working to secure a political support base for the newly established Palang Pracharath Party by poaching former MPs from other parties, many of whom previously belonged to Pheu Thai.
The Palang Pracharath Party is perceived to be a political vehicle to support Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s return to power after the general election, expected on Feb 24, if he chooses to try and reclaim the premiership.
Mr Dejnattawit said he grew up in a family of politicians and he saw his father work in a variety of related roles since he was a child, which made him dream of also becoming a politician.
After gaining a strong education and more life experience he decided he wanted to play a role in further developing Thailand and helping to improve people’s livelihoods, he said.
He holds a master’s degree in finance earned in the UK and said he will apply what he has learned to give Thai politics a much-needed boost.
He graduated around the time of the 2014 coup and has had no chance to engage in political activities until now.
The National Council for Peace and Order ( NCPO) eased its ban on political activities recently, enabling him to officially enter the political fray, Mr Dejnattawit said.
“I would like to do all I can for the people so they will live better lives. Wherever I go, I often hear them complain about the economy, bread-and-butter issues,” he said.
“So I want to act as a voice for them and plan to run as a poll candidate, replacing my father in Chiang Mai,” he added.
“Even though I have little political experience, I have never been far from politics. I always went with my father during his visits to see local people, or during his campaigns.”
On the election due in late February, Mr Dejnattawit said he expects to face a tough challenge from rivals in other parties.
The Democrat Party remains a key competitor in the constituency he is eyeing, he said.
Since he is a relative newcomer, he predicted that when the poll date is finally announced his rivals will shift up a gear to battle for a Chiang Mai constituency seat previously occupied by his father.
Boonsong is a former Pheu Thai MP who won a seat in Chiang Mai’s constituency 7 in the 2011 general election.
Mr Dejnattawit went on to say that he has come up with a raft of development projects as the constituency is endowed with natural resources and tourist spots, and the area has enormous potential for development.
The area is still in need of infrastructure to accommodate the tourist industry, he said, adding he wanted to push for an electric rail project in Chiang Mai to ease traffic congestion, which has increasingly become the bane of local residents’ lives.
Studies have been conducted on the feasibility of the project, he said.
Promoting local agricultural produce is also among his interests and he has pledged to find ways to develop that into modern agro-industry, Mr Dejnattawit said, adding he also has a project to help people reduce household spending.
Addressing the political conflict that has beset the country over the past decade, he described it as a political feud among previous generations.
New politicians should put that behind them and work together for the sake of the country or see it stuck in the same political rut without any progress, he said.
“I think we should look to the future, come together to add a new dimension to politics, and move past the conflict,” he said.
“Of course, my father is my personal hero and he always will be. He was a hardworking man who was determined to work for the good of the people.”
While serving as a cabinet minister, my father oversaw the implementation of several high-profile programmes under the Yingluck administration, Mr Dejnattawit said.
The “car for the first-time buyer” scheme would be one example of this, he said.
Based on one of Pheu Thai’s 2011 election promises, the scheme allowed firsttime buyers an excise tax rebate of up to 100,000 baht for cars priced no more than 1 million baht. Participants were required to keep the car for five years.
Asked about his father’s cryptic remark that he would “take a secret with him to the grave”, Mr Dejnattawit had no comment on the subject.
He described his father as being a man of few words but someone full of wisdom, knowledge the younger politician still cherishes.
“I still remember what my father taught me. He said: “Never forget what others have done to help you. That sums up his personality,” he said.
On Aug 25 last year the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions found Boonsong and 16 others guilty in a case involving fake governmentto-government (G2G) rice deals.
Boonsong was handed a 42-year jail sentence while his former deputy, Poom Sarapol, was sentenced to 36 years.
The court ruled the rice-purchase deals were not G2G contracts but involved sales of the pledged rice to private companies, which then sold them off to a third party for profit.
We should look to the future ... and move past the conflict.
DEJNATTAWIT TERIYAPIROM PHEU THAI MEMBER