He decided to enter the political scene because, whenever he returned to his hometown in Chiang Mai, he saw that many people were still struggling with poverty, and he wanted to help. Thaksin: As a coalition government, disagreements are inevitable, but ultimately, consensus must be reached. He also noted that the current Prime Minister, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is similar to him, providing a sense of familiarity.
Thaksin: He said he has been through countless attacks, so nothing surprises him anymore. While he understands what happened in the past, he prefers to focus on moving forward. He learned to find inner peace after spending 17 years in self-exile, understanding that unhappiness with oneself prevents rest and peace. Thaksin: He said the Thai economy has struggled with growth over the past decade, with the military and central bank believing that Thailand should avoid letting commercial banks fail, still scarred by the Asian financial crisis.
He explained that the government and central bank have been issuing bonds, which commercial banks have been buying, leading to low liquidity in the economic system compared to other countries. This has contributed to slower growth in Thailand.
Thaksin: The central bank has two roles: managing interest rates and currency, and overseeing the banking system. However, he said the central bank sometimes confuses these roles by being overly protective of commercial banks, which now hold a lot of capital.
The central bank is trying to inject liquidity back into the system. While the central bank is independent, Thaksin believes they should sometimes listen to practical advice. He emphasized that businesspeople understand the economic situation and practicalities well. He drew a parallel to U. Thaksin: He discussed the possibility of issuing a stable coin backed by government bonds, where spending the coin would yield no interest, but holding it would generate interest.
