Business experience will help me rule, say new Thai PM

Published on Friday 8 July 2011 16:51

THAILAND'S next prime minister said she would draw on her exiled brother's ideas to help the country, but vowed she would not be his puppet.

Yingluck Shinawatra said she couldn't avoid being the sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a 2006 military coup and still loathed by much of the Thai establishment. He had described his sister as his "clone" during the campaign.

In a news conference with foreign journalists yesterday, Yingluck said she would make decisions "independently" but parried many questions about her planned policies until she takes office.

She said with 20 years of business experience she can make her own decisions, but will consult with the Pheu Thai Party management team that helped her to victory - the party won 265 of 500 parliamentary seats in last Sunday's election.

The Shinawatra family businesses include Thailand's Yellow Pages publisher, a mobile phone service provider and a property company.

Yingluck will officially become prime minister after she is elected by Parliament later this month.

Thaksin's remarks during the campaign that his sister was his "clone" reinforced suspicions that he would be pulling the strings behind Yingluck.