Meet Chuwit Kamolvisit, Brothel King Turned Bangkok Governor?

Meet Chuwit Kamolvisit, self-declared guard dog of the people and adversary of Thailand’s political establishment. Khun Chuwit recently welcomed absolutely Bangkok at his beautiful Thai villa at the back of „Chuwit Garden“ down Sukhumvit Soi 10. „Each square meter of this park cost me one million baht,“ Chuwit grumbled proudly. „And it’s free, open to anyone …“

Chuwit runs for Bangkok governor at the upcoming election. He runs as an independent. The campaign office is set outside, on the covered veranda of his classy teak garden villa. It’s hot, everybody’s sweating. Chuwit keeps his cool. His eyes wandering around when talking. Only looking straight into the interviewer’s eyes when the question demands some harsher answer.

And there he went on, explaining the white, black and gray people, why former interior minister Purachai goes go to sleep at 9 o’clock, why humans who don’t need sex are not normal and why he sees himself above political parties, trying to strike a balance “between the yellows and the reds.” Chuwit explains that under the Thai Buddhist religion there is no love. All there is is serenity. No love, Chuwit concludes, in Thai society.

Khun Chuwit needs no big introduction. Some hate him, some fear him, many still don’t take him serious. Chuwit Kamolvisit once was Thailand’s biggest massage parlor owner. After his arrest in 2003, he went public about his repeated bribe payments to hundreds of police officers. He then sold some parlors and formed his own political party.

In 2004 he ran for Bangkok governor, coming in third. In 2005 he was elected for a four-year term to the Thai House of Representatives, but in 2006 the Constitution Court removed him from parliament. Elevated to Chart Thai’s deputy party leader, Chuwit quit from the party in 2007 because he could not accept party leader Banharn Silpa-Archa’s lack of political commitment.

Today, Khun Chuwit aka Davis Kamol, self-declared guard dog of the people, sees the day of judgement has arrived. Campaign billboards don’t show him any longer with a German shepherd dog or a sledgehammer, but with a field glass. In fact, he has no policies. absolutely met the dazzling man in his outdoor office at Chuwit Garden. Here we go:

Khun Chuwit – emergency in Bangkok. Even without emergency, there’s always a sense of emergency here. Politicians are all but stressed out. You look so relaxed. Why’s that.

We need to fight, I need to be strong. Actually under this situation when the mob is still occupying the Government House, what choice do I have? There are the people we call the yellow people, and then we still have the Thai people we call the red people. The yellows and the reds. Imagine, we separate the Thai people. There is no space in the middle! People tell me I need to choose a side.

So where you stand?

I’m in the middle and I am the middle. But people tell me you have to be left or right – why do I have to take a side? There’s no space in the middle, they say … This is a difficult time. When political parties separate the people. On the one side we have the people in Bangkok, on the other the people outside Bangkok. That’s why I ask: Do we need two parties? One for the lower, one for the higher class?

If you’d be Bangkok’s governor, what would you do?

Bangkok, I will say, we will love each other. We will love you. I love you I love you I love you. The power of love. Love is a glorious thing, but under the Thai Buddhist religion there is no love. All there is is serenity. In Thai society you have kreng jai, you’re a bigger man then. There’s someone above and someone below. But there’s no love. In Western society we all love each other. That’s why in Thai society you have too many wifes. Because we don’t give 100 percent love to one wive. You have to give you have to give 25 percent to the first, wife, 25 percent to the second, 25 percent to the third … In the mid-80s I lived in San Diego, with my ex-wife, Canadian. I know what I’m talking about. I was in school, that was 1983 to 1984. I had no money and her parents didn’t like me …

Now you want to be loved by Bangkokians and become their governor. What do you have to offer?

As said, the problem about Thailand’s political parties is that they separate people into a lower class and a middle class. They’re not functioning as an institution. They only see their own benefit. That’s why I have no party. The last time I had an experience with a party was with Mr. Banharn Silpa-Archa. I told him back then that he had no political commitment. You have to be responsible for your political commitment. He broke that commitment. I had to leave the party. I saw that the party belonged to the family, like a company, like a partnership.

Your relationship today with Mr. Banharn?

We are at the different sides of the river. Different in our ways, vision, age, generation. I don’t blame him because he grew up that way. But we are the gap of the generation. I look at him and say, hey this is an old guy.

Your priorities for Bangkok?

My most important policy to begin with is to change Bangkok through „visiting Bangkok.“ I want Bangkok to become like Paris, a total tourist city, as this has positive effects. This effects the economy, effects the people, effects crime. But what’s Bangkok today! We cannot even compete with Singapore! People there speak English and are straight forward. We cannot compare with Hong Kong – because it’s the window to China. The only thing we have here in Bangkok is tourism with the service sector. Bangkok has to become a tourist city.

Bangkok is already a tourist city …

No, it is not. What are the farangs coming here for. They go to see the palace, but they could do that already 30 years ago. Maybe they go to Patpong. This is not the tourist I want. Tourism here builds on four pillars: Temple culture, antics, old things and such. People don’t come here because Bangkok is modern. No one from Bangkok goes to Laos to see the modern things there. The same with Westerners here. Second: Tourists come for culture. Thai people smile, say ok all the time and yes yes yes. So they love Thai people.

They say yes yes yes but think no no no …

Yes, because Thais always play politics … Third: The food. And fourth: Shopping. There’s a lot of not expensive shopping here. These are the four most important things for tourists here. But hey, I have seen no talk about a clean city, about pollution control and the protection of the environment. This is what Bangkok should do. BMA (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration) has a lot of explaining to do.

Isn’t it an impossible job to be Mr. Cleanup around here, whom you claim to be?

No, why? You don’t have to clean up everything. You have to enjoy with the people, the same way people enjoy in other cities. Or you think they go to sleep at 9 every night? People in Bangkok want to enjoy and people come here to enjoy. They want to see the light rather than to stay in the hotel. I will promote Bangkok as a city to enjoy. Other cities are constantly innovating themselves. Look at Hong Kong with Disneyland and Singapore with it’s new casino …

Basically you want to turn back the clock? You will bring back the Bangkok of the days before former interior minister Purachai entered the fray with his new „social order“ …?

Purachai goes to sleep early. He’s a good guy. You need to sleep early to do something for the majority, because you will know your neighborhood things. It all depends on you. For me, I stay on earth. I don’t stay in heaven. I’m gray. As are most people in Bangkok or even in Los Angeles or New York. Most of those societies are gray. They pretend to be white, but are black, so they’re gray, inbetween. Where is white in the temple? 80 percent of this society belong to the gray society.

How you want to represent the neighborhood that goes to sleep at 9 o’clock?

I know what the neighborhood. I know how the people eat, what they talk and do. I know everything. Because I do not sleep early. I should know more. So Mr. Purachai doesn’t know about the nightlife.

Mr. Purachai took nightlife as a synonym for drinking, showing up late at work and failing at work, being irresponsible …

I tell you 80 percent of the people here are gray. They have sex all the time. If somebody has no sex that person is not normal.

You must be angry quite often looking at your own society.

… sometimes it’s better to be a dog than human …

When was the last time you got really upset and why?

I have a hotel, the Davis. The mob affects us a lot. The whole system is affected. Because there is no middle anymore.

People will vote for you?

This morning I made a complaint to the Election Commission about former governor Apirak Kosayodhin. I suggest Mr. Apirak goes to see Olympics and learns about fair play. His campaign signs belong to BMA, but they put the name of Mr. Apirak on those signs. That’s not fair. This is really important. They don’t have to pay. And when BMA makes those signs, people believe it more. Mr. Apirak takes advantage – he has much advantage already and is still looking for more. That’s why he’s up in the polls.

You seem to have quite a set on politicians in general. I mean, you have been arrested and thrown out of parliament.

That is my experience. You stay in Thailand and it’s the same way as if you’d stay in Pakistan or the same style as if you stay in Malaysia. You can be in jail quickly, but once you are up you can make a fortune. Take Thaksin, within ten years he changed his life to the top. In Europe you cannot do that. But here, they can do it easily, because they have corruption, because we have undeveloped politics, because we have more gray areas than other countries. And because people accept money for their vote.

So you support the Pantamit PAD?

I don’t agree with the PAD completely. I agree with them partially. I agree that Mr. Samak is a nominee – which he said himself in the beginning. But Mr. Samak is an old politician who stayed in politics for more than 30 years. He’s like a gecko in the coffin. The gecko wouldn’t leave until the coffin has been burned. They hang in the coffin because they think there’s gold in there.

You want Prime Minister Samak to step down?

Khun Samak should stay, he has to stay, there is a big event in December (the Royal Cremation of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana). The cremation is a big thing for him and his family. But for the better of the nation I think he should leave. If the house is burning you don’t ask who set the fire. But you’re looking for water. That’s why Khun Samak has to leave.

You had quite a life as Thailand’s brothel king. Now politician. What a rise? What a fall?

Life now is bad as a politician. Back then that was my happy life. It is a bad career that I chose. I jumped into politics by accident. When I started the massage business I was 33 years old. You need nice females surrounding you. You don’t need more. But I gave it up. I gave up everything. Life must go on, what can I do – I have enough. I earn much more money now and it’s time to go on. Not in the massage parlor.

Let take a wild guess and assume you’re not elected Bangkok governor. What next?

If I fail I’ll go back to parliament. I’ve set up a political party already. The name is „Fight for Thai.“ The logo is a fist.

So you fight and fight on … If you ever should have a free evening, what do you love to do?

When I’m free? Really free? Well, I will open a good wine and drink it and think why do I buy the good wine? It’s time for me to drink for myself and not always give (the good wine) to others.

Final question. The most beautiful thing about Bangkok? What you detest most?

The good part here, when you go to the West the life is like McDonald’s fast food. They always do the same thing. Life there is boring, but in Bangkok nothing is boring, because life is very low and at the same time very high. There’s lots of variety, like the food with so many ingredients and spices. Just not like fast food. And disturbs me? Well, they still have a lot of stupid people running the city and a lot of political !@%$#%@s. That is very disturbing. They always say they are white when they are very black. I accept I’m gray.