4 days ago
Thaksin talks up new ‘soft power' push
After being conspicuously quiet during two weeks of high political drama in Thailand, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the public eye on Wednesday with a splash — talking up his daughter's favourite project.
Thaksin was the headline attraction at the SPLASH — Soft Power Forum 2025, unveiling an ambitious roadmap to elevate Thailand's creative industries onto the global stage.
At the heart of the new campaign is the transformation of the Otop (One Tambon, One Product) venture that Thaksin introduced two decades ago into ThaiWORKS, a 21st century platform that will give all participants better chances of success.
Speaking on the theme 'Crafting the Future: From Otop to ThaiWORKS and Beyond', Thaksin emphasised the transformative potential of soft power in driving economic growth and national unity.
The government is promoting soft power across various aspects of Thai culture — including food, film and fashion — to attract tourists, draw investment and strengthen international relations.
The SPLASH event, taking place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center until Friday, has drawn widespread attention from both domestic and international media. It also marked Thaksin's first public appearance since the Hun Sen audio clip controversy that resulted in the suspension of his daughter Paetongtarn from the prime ministership.
While the planning for SPLASH began months ago, this week's event just happened to coincide with Ms Paetongtarn moving into her new position at the Ministry of Culture, a key driver of soft power promotion.
Although he did not grant interviews, Thaksin greeted supporters warmly and appeared in high spirits. During his address, the 75-year-old billionaire reflected on the origins of the Otop initiative, inspired by Japanese village-based production models, in 2003.
He recounted its early success, noting that sales grew from 2 billion baht in the first year to over 40 billion baht the following year, with exports reaching Japan.
'As fans of Japanese culture and products, we studied the Japanese Otop model and recognised that without strong design, packaging, and marketing, Thai craftsmanship remains limited by outdated paradigms,' he said.
He also envisions evolving Otop into ThaiWORKS — a platform that integrates design, technology and global marketing to empower local artisans and entrepreneurs.
'Twenty years ago, I founded a political party with the vision: Think new, act new, eyes on the stars, feet on the ground,' he said.
'Today, we face an economic crisis because we remain stuck in outdated paradigms. We must dream big but stay rooted. We need to adapt to a broader world while maintaining strong cultural foundations.
'Thai artisans have great potential — but Otop needed modernisation,' he said. Strategic plans were discussed, including the ambitious goal of placing Otop products in flagship stores on Fifth Avenue and the Champs-Élysées.
He noted a key challenge: most Thai brands — especially those from local communities or SMEs — are too small to compete globally.
A potential solution is collaborating with established Thai brands to help smaller producers scale up. He also proposed a social enterprise model in which intellectual property rights are held collectively by Thais.
Thaksin is reported to have used his own money to engage Peter Arnell, a global branding expert known for his work with Samsung, to help with the new endeavour.
Mr Arnell has already created a ThaiWORKS page on his corporate website, though there is little content there so far.
Thaksin said ThaiWORKS would also work with local small businesses affected by rising competition from Chinese imports, exploring co-branding strategies and development of independent Thai brands.
