As one of the key "CEO ambassadors", Kasit was instrumental in organising several overseas events to showcase and promote the Otop (One Tambon One Product) brand of indigenous products.

"The idea was sound, but there was little substance. It was mostly the form and appearance that attracted attention," says the 60-year-old ex-diplomat, who can be now counted among Thaksin's friends-turned-critics.

At the height of the anti-Thaksin movement in March, Kasit even went on stage at a People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rally to grill his former boss, even though he had

been quite close to him for many years.

Kasit also worked for Thaksin at Government House for a brief period in 2001, but he says he didn't like the job and so returned to the Foreign Ministry.

"Joining the PAD was sort of a coincidence," says Kasit, who graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.

"After retiring from the foreign service late last year, I planned to take up lecturing at several universities, including Thammasat, Turakij Bundit and Asian University. I was also keen on promoting good governance, so I joined the local chapter of the Caux Round Table, whose agenda is to promote global corporate responsibility.

"However, I felt the issue of abuse of state power raised by PAD and the anti-Thaksin movement was very serious. In fact, abuse of power is the opposite of good governance. As a result, I thought I should no longer stay mum and so went to the PAD rallies a few times and spoke out against the premier.

"Based on my experience, state power has been abused because the government's interests and the private sector's interests are not effectively separated, resulting in unethical practices. For instance, the premier did not put his family businesses into a professionally managed trust, so there's a conflict of interest between his public office and his family's business interests."

Such conflict of interest reached huge proportions earlier this year when the premier's family sold its majority stake in Shin Corp to Temasek Group of Singapore in a tax-free deal worth more than Bt70 billion. The sale triggered massive protests against Thaksin, who ultimately decided to take a "break" from politics.

"After I went on the PAD stage, I was retaliated at by the premier during one of his last weekly radio addresses," Kasit says. "But I thought my loyalty to the nation was more important, so I should tell the public the truth and there should be no government cover-up of issues deemed important to the public interest.

"For instance, the Thai people have not had a chance to see details of the free-trade agreements signed by the Thaksin government with several foreign countries. I think the public have a right to know since there are both positive and negative consequences."

For Kasit, democracy and good corporate governance go hand in hand. He believes that civic organisations, strong and ethical political parties, independent bodies set up under the Constitution and a competent

bureaucracy are pillars of a sound democracy.

As for good corporate governance, he says the trend is towards greater transparency, morality, cross-border responsibility and a good international image.

"In the end, we should champion the cause of moral capitalism, open society and moral government. We should not have a government that says that constituencies that do not elect its candidates to Parliament will not get their share of the state budget. And we should not treat our compatriots in the South as if they're a minority of our nation," says Kasit, who has now become a member of the Democrat Party.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com