3		Samak

Former Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej died yesterday morning. He had been Bangkok Governor, Interior Minister, Transport Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and finally became Prime Minister last year.

BP wrote a biography on Samak's time up until 1992 here. Matichon has a reasonably long obituary of him here. The Bangkok Post also has an obituary. Key point:

The Nation also has an obituary with this interesting tidbit:

Unlike many Thai politicians, Samak did not dye his hair to look younger. He once said he got the idea of allowing his hair to grey naturally from his regular barber who said to him, "If you politicians lie about the colour of your hair, can we trust you about other things?"

Tulsie also in The Nation:

They say few politicians ever show real remorse. Samak went a step further because his purported guilt was often showered with his own contempt. You can blame, criticise or scold him for many things, but he was probably the least pretentious among the lot. He caused untold pain to countless people but had to fight tooth and nail against animosity and humiliation himself.

Reuters:

A stirring orator with a penchant for colourful language, Samak was forced out of office in September after a court ruled he had broken conflict-of-interest laws by accepting payment for hosting a television cooking show.

Before leading the country, Samak held several ministerial posts and was once governor of Bangkok.

He is best known as a denouncer of left-wing student activists in the 1970s, though he repeatedly denied any role in the slaughter of student protesters on Oct. 6, 1976, when a clash with security forces killed at least 46 people and wounded hundreds. Some were lynched, beaten to death or shot dead.

Critics have said Samak's rhetoric on radio shows helped stir up anti-communist sentiment that prompted the fighting.

AP:

Generally, however, his belligerence gave way over the years to a sort of grandfatherly grumpiness, and many supporters remembered him best for his TV show called "Tasting and Complaining," a mix of traditional Thai cooking and rants on pet subjects.

Early on, Samak established his trademarks — a right-wing ideology, a common touch which endeared him to some and a bias against freewheeling democracy and the press — a "burden on development" he once called reporters whom he periodically berated for asking "lousy" questions.

Al Jazeera has a statement from former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was very early with his twitter message:

"My family and I express profound sorrow for the passing away of HE (His Excellency) Samak but I will not be able to attend his funeral," Thaksin said.

Matichon quotes Abhisit as saying he passes on condolences to Samak's family, will attend the funeral, and Samak's death is a great loss.

BP: Most of the other Thai politicians had nice words to say about Samak. There will likely be a large turnout for his funeral with many already confirming they will attend.