NEWSMAKER / NOPPADON PATTAMA : Playing the devil's advocate

NEWSMAKER / NOPPADON PATTAMA : Playing the devil's advocate.

Currently in the limelight as the mouthpiece of an absent billionaire client, lawyer Noppadon Pattama is a man with a mind of his own.

By MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

Noppadon Pattama. Is he a lawyer with lofty ambitions who would do anything for money and personal gain, even if it were a fool's errand _ like defending Thaksin Shinawatra? What manner of man is this legal adviser of the ousted prime minister? The son of a rural school teacher, Mr Noppadon, 45, has come a long way from the time he first saw a barrister and dreamt of wearing the same kind of gown one day.

He is now well-known, notoriously perhaps, as the wily legal spokesman of Mr Thaksin, whose many transactions and activities are being investigated by the interim government of General Surayud Chulanont. Mr Noppadon has been defending his controversial client with the kind of fervour and passion that makes people wonder what his motives are. Loyalty? Money? Or fame?

Too polite to divulge how much he earns from defending Mr Thaksin, he reveals only that it is nowhere near the speculated 10 million baht.

He entered politics 19 years ago. He joined the Democrat party at the behest of Chuan Leekpai, party leader at the time. The two met in the United Kingdom, when he was studying law at Oxford University under the prestigious Ananda Mahidol Scholarship established by His Majesty the King. The scholarship enables recipients to study overseas on condition they return and work for the benefit of the state _ a clause that has elicited criticism for his representing the ousted prime minister.

''Ater my return to Thailand, I visited Chuan at the Ministry of Health where he then sat as minister. I still remember that he sent someone to buy beef curry. I wondered why, then realised the food was for me. He even advised me that fruits were best enjoyed before sweetmeats,'' Mr Noppadon recalled.

In 1996, he was elected as a member of parliament for Bangkok for the first time and at one point served as secretary to then foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan.

He is full of praise for his mentor, Mr Chuan. ''Former prime minister Chuan is my political father,'' he says. ''I will never forget him.''

Despite his high regard for Mr Chuan, Mr Noppadon left the Democrats in 2002 and in May 2006 joined Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party.

He said the Democrat party's ''culture'' stymied his dreams.

''Even the party's core leaders weren't getting popular support from the public at that time. How could I, who stood way behind as a rank-and-file member, have the chance to achieve anything?''

He added that he didn't want to waste any more of his time with an organisation that had no executable vision and was very slow in taking any action. Some of the politicians in the party were only keen on stopping his projects, never to support them.

Current members of the Democrat party declined to comment on Mr Noppadon.

Akapol Sorasuchart, Mahachon party deputy leader and a fellow Democrat alumni, says that Mr Noppadon definitely had his perception of things which was not always in line with that of others'.

In Mr Akapol's view, Mr Noppadon was a highly determined politician who could sometimes be fickle and difficult to understand. His self-confidence was also very high, to the point that it sometimes got on other people's nerves, he said.

''When he was MP for Bangkok he made a proposal about what the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's policy direction should be. At that time, both Abhisit [Vejjajiva, the present Democrat leader] and I thought that the idea was premature but Noppadon wouldn't listen. He later became dissatisfied and said the Democrat party failed to give him any recognition.''

Mr Akapol mirrored the opinion of many people when he said he found Mr Noppadon's decision to take on the role of the Shinawatra family's legal adviser rather peculiar and risky. He said he could not quite fathom what Mr Noppadon envisioned or planned for his political career, especially after acting more like Mr Thaksin's spokesman than his legal adviser.

Tawee Surabal, another ex-Democrat who defected to the Thai Rak Thai party, said Mr Noppadon should be viewed as just another lawyer doing a job he has been commissioned to do. And that as far as he knew, Mr Noppadon was the kind of man who gave a lot to whatever he decided to do.

Sources in the Council for National Security have painted Mr Noppadon as an unscrupulous hired hand who would say or do anything for his own gain.

Judging from his course of action and as a recipient of the King's scholarship, they say he effectively has gone back on his oath to serve the country.

''Noppadon uses a satire-and-ridicule tactic with the CNS and the government. There is no substance in his talk. We have to put up with him a lot,'' one of the sources said.

Politicians never try to educate the public. They only use people as their political base, the source added.

Mr Noppadon, however, has no qualms about taking on the controversial job. If he were to choose again, he would still opt to do the same thing in the same way he has been doing.

''I like the song My Way, he says. ''And I accept what has been decided, whether it is right or wrong.''

To a certain extent, the hard drive and dogged determination _ goal-oriented and ambitious to a fault _ marks the character of this rural boy who graduated in law from Oxford.

Impressed by the barrister's gown worn by Noi Chinnaraj, a former MP of Nakhon Ratchasima, where he was born, Mr Noppadon set his mind on becoming a lawyer so that he could one day serve as provincial governor.

When he came to Bangkok to further his studies, staying at a temple to save on rent, he saw the gown of a Thammasat University graduate and made up his mind to obtain it one day.

He graduated top of his class from the university's faculty of law in 1982. Obsessed with the gown, which in his eyes are a symbol of success, Mr Noppadon has been collecting robes from different educational institutes as a hobby, and wears a utilitarian attitude towards what he should be doing.

''Being a judge looks good but you will get to make judgments on only a few cases. But it cannot compare with being a law-maker. Best, however, is to become part of an administration because you can push for implementation of laws that will affect the lives of millions of people.''

He is equally nonchalant in conceding that his being Mr Thaksin's personal adviser has a political purpose: ''It is not that my mission is to keep Thaksin alive on the political map. That is just a by-product.''

Every time he calls a press conference, it is about legal matters, he says. The latest one was an attempt to defuse the criminal allegation that Mr Thaksin was behind the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok.

''I do not hold press conferences weekly. I don't want to have too many of them, or too few,'' he says.

He turned grave when told about the criticism that it was disappointing for a recipient of the King's scholarship to be seen serving as a legal spokesman for someone like Mr Thaksin, who faces among many charges the accusation of having conducted activities the Council for National Security viewed as disrespectful of the monarchy.

''Without the Ananda Mahidol scholarship, I wouldn't be here today,'' Mr Noppadon says. ''I can sincerely say that I am loyal to the highest institution. If I happen to be seated with my legs crossed and news about royal activities comes up, I immediately uncross my legs as a sign of respect.''

He has become a victim of his own success, he says.

People may wonder if Mr Thaksin's advocate sleeps soundly at night these days, considering the controversial role he has chosen for himself. But Mr Noppadon insists his life has not changed much. There are still people who phone in to express moral support, as are those who lambaste him. ''Things are too chaotic at this point. Don't rush to decide whether you like me or not. This is a long game,'' he says.

Bangkok Post
Friday January 12, 2007