Chuan hits back at Samak

"It is unfair to use the state media outlet for personal bickering," he said in reference to the Sunday's weekly address by Samak Sundaravej.

Samak said Chuan took a moral high ground on honesty by saying that a prime minister's reputation should not be tainted by litigation. He said he was not a corrupt politician and that Chuan called for an unreasonable standard as his brother, Raluek Leekpai, was involved in corruption and had to flee abroad for 20 years to elude the law.

Chuan rebutted that his remarks on prime ministerial qualifications were about generally accepted principles although Samak might have taken it personally due to his own legal wrangling.

"If Samak has reviewed my remarks in full, he would have known that I did not single him or any individual prime minister," he said.

 He said Samak's swipe at Raluek was inappropriate because his younger brother was not an office holder. Raluek was a bank branch manager, hence he could not be charged for corruption as Samak had claimed, he said.

The Nation