BANGKOK: Thai celebrity chef Samak Sundaravej is not going to let a little thing like being prime minister interfere with his true passion - cooking.
Moments after being voted in yesterday, the combative right-wing politician vowed to revive his weekly cooking show "Tasting, Grumbling", which went off the air this month after the outgoing army-appointed government took over its host station.
"We still have three months of our new cooking show on tape. The constitution does not prohibit a prime minister from doing TV shows," Samak told reporters at his favorite open-air food market in Bangkok.
Over the last seven years, "Tasting, Grumbling" has become a staple for lovers of Thailand's spicy food, even though its host is not to everyone's taste.
Facts on Samak:
Born in Bangkok on June 13, 1935 into an aristocratic family, Samak earned a law degree from Bangkok's prestigious Thammasat University and worked in various jobs as a clerk, tour guide and journalist.
Samak ran a radio campaign against pro-democracy student activists in the mid-1970s and supported a bloody crackdown on them in October 1976 which led to a coup. He served briefly as interior minister in the military-appointed government.
He was elected Bangkok governor in a landslide in 2000 but left office four years later with low approval ratings. He still faces graft probes into projects started while he was in office.
Samak was elected to the Senate in 2006, but lost his job after the Sept 19 coup abolished the constitution. He stayed in the public eye as host of a television cooking show.
The political knife fighter was elected PPP leader in August last year and vowed to fight "military dictatorship".
Source: China Daily/Agencies
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article