Abhisit's nephew 'Itim' first Thai to lead top Oxford society

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Abhisit's nephew 'Itim' first Thai to lead top Oxford society
BUDSARAKHAM SINLAPALAVAN,
KORNCHANOK RAKSASERI
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- PARIT WACHARASINDHU, the 21-year-old nephew of former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, is in the spotlight again with the news that he has become the first Thai to be voted president of the Oxford Union, the largest student society at Oxford University.

"The Oxford Union was founded in 1823 as a small debating society that was based on the principle of free speech. But since then it has grown to become a venue for students of Oxford to have the chance to debate alongside world leaders in every professional field, politics, journalism, acting. And it provides an arena where students can debate alongside and against world leaders on an equal setting," he said.

Famous speakers invited to the union's events include the Dalai Lama; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Mother Teresa; the former US presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan; and UK ex-prime ministers; Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher.

Among speakers during Parit's presidential term were Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai. Parit said he was impressed with the modesty of Jack Gleeson, who gained fame from the role of King Joffrey in the "Game of Thrones" television series.

Topics of discussion

The topics of discussion varied from the necessity of positive discrimination to whether socialism works. Debates about religion draw a lot of attention, he said.

"I think it's a unique experience for a 20-year-old student like me to have the opportunity to meet and interview the guest speakers. It's also an opportunity for me to manage an organisation that's so rich in history and involves so many people working for it. And it is a society that is completely student-run. So in that sense it gives me a very unique experience. I am very grateful for it," he said, adding he was proud to have been the first Thai voted into the position, which is normally dominated by British students.

Parit, known by his nickname, "Itim", returned to Thailand during the school break then the news of his position, which he had already completed, spread on social media.

Parit was voted into the position in March last year and took up the presidential post in the Winter term from June to December.

Parit was the first Thai to receive the prestigious King's Scholarship to study at Eton College in England. The scholarships are given in honour of King Henry VI, who founded the institution in the 15th century.

He is currently in the final year of the University of Oxford's Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) bachelor's course, in which his uncle Abhisit also graduated.

Elections for the Oxford Union are held three times a year. In previous years, Parit won positions on its secretary committee, standing committee and was the union's treasurer.As the president of the Oxford Union, his main role was to organise events which took place almost every day. He would be involved in interviewing and giving guests the chance to speak and debate against and alongside the students of Oxford University.

Keeping "an open mind"

Parit had to administer the staff of over 50 people while the Oxford Union, whose members account for about 70 per cent of all Oxford University students, also has its own building, legal entities and revenue of about 1 million pounds (about Bt54.1 million) a year, which is collected by the students.

Unlike the Oxford University Students' Union whose executive includes both students and the university's staff, the Oxford Union is - uniquely- run only by students. Because of the workload of the post, Parit had to take a break from his study during his term as president, which delayed his graduation. But he was content to make the sacrifice.

"When you listen to the debates, your thoughts change all the time as you are convinced by the arguments of both sides. That is really eye opening and gave food for thought," he said.Despite an interest in politics, he has not decided about a job after graduation in June 2015 because he wants to keep an open mind on his options.

"I always take a step-by-step approach for my future plans [and] I take one step at a time. At the moment I'm going back into my final year of study at Oxford. So I can't really think beyond that at the moment. I want to go back, study hard and get good grades for a graduate," he said."I want to keep an open mind about my options, but one thing for sure is that I would like to return to Thailand and contribute in some way to the country - through whatever profession I choose," he said.

In the meantime, Parit currently has a job as a tutor for students who want to study in the UK.He refused to talk about the Thai political situation, which is deeply polarised. But he said he wants to see a full democracy where people have the right to rally against the government but at the same time see no need to exercise that right.

"I want to see that, certainly, you [the people] might have a preference for a political party you want to be the government, but you don't feel that the government misrepresents you so much that you have to come out and protest," he said.


-- The Nation 2014-04-28

[soundman]

Well done. Nice to have the real respect of your peers.

[kkerry]

Nice to see at least one family member happy enough to submit to an election...

[Mango Bob]

I sure hope Suthep supporters here don't give the Uncle any credit for what the kid has accomplished. But I am sure they will. We just need to hope he doesn't turn out like his Uncle.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Mango Bob

[chooka]

Is he actually Thai or English?

Hang he this is past history,he is a past President, last year and there have been 3 other Presidents since him.

Are they dragging this dusty old news out of the cupboard as a political move to assist his uncle?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Oxford_Union

Edited April 27, 2014 by chooka

[ratcatcher]

Is he actually Thai or English?

I should think that having Thai parents and being born in Thailand would make him a Thai. Wouldn't you?

[PatOngo]

Jutaporns nephew will have to wait till next year I guess,or will it be Khun Thida's nephew.

[ratcatcher]

Jutaporns nephew will have to wait till next year I guess,or will it be Khun Thida's nephew.

I imagine that the only way those chaps (if they exist) would enter Oxford University would be as tourists?

[chainarong]

Congratulations Parit , well done , to be granted this honour is not lost on the International community, your uncle was no slouch when it came to Oxford , once again , well done.

[Mitker]

Amazing to see that an achievement of an open minded and bright Thai student evolving in a multinational environment brings 7% of "angry" opinions among the readers (original website).

Just for the mention of Abhisit name I guess.

Tells a lot about how open minded these are

But we read about these everyday

[Roadman]

Well done young man. Great learning experience at a young age if he does choose the field of politics.

[whatsupdoc]

I sure hope Suthep supporters here don't give the Uncle any credit for what the kid has accomplished. But I am sure they will. We just need to hope he doesn't turn out like his Uncle.

Nah, we just need to hope he doesn't turn out like a Mango Bob. (not that that would be likely in any way)

[MMarlow]

I sure hope Suthep supporters here don't give the Uncle any credit for what the kid has accomplished. But I am sure they will. We just need to hope he doesn't turn out like his Uncle.

Strange, isn't it, how some posters, regardless of the positivity of a report continually try to denigrate those involved? The "kid" is a 21year old adult. Maybe Abhisit deserves some credit for encouraging his nephew and there are a lot of things worse than turning out like Mr Abhisit.

[jalansanitwong]

No doubt this young Thai hi-so ammart is a Prime Minister in waiting. Thailand is a private club and 99.99%

of the population isnt invited.

[CTO]

Well done, but odd that this hapened last year, and have been three others since, I didn't know Boris Johnson had been Pres as well.

[gabruce]

Quote from "Itim":

But he said he wants to see a full democracy where people have the right to rally against the government but at the same time see no need to exercise that right.

"I want to see that, certainly, you [the people] might have a preference for a political party you want to be the government, but you don't feel that the government misrepresents you so much that you have to come out and protest," he said.

---------------------------

Sensible young man. That is the goal! Now, the political parties need to learn that lesson and remember it when they form a government. Then it is likely that problems such as Thailand has now won't occur. I wonder if Abhisit's heart is in the same place too?

[gabruce]

Is he actually Thai or English?

Hang he this is past history,he is a past President, last year and there have been 3 other Presidents since him.

Are they dragging this dusty old news out of the cupboard as a political move to assist his uncle?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Oxford_Union

Why would you even wonder if he is Thai or not? It's possible of course, his mother or father might be British (or thai or german or american or lithuanian or ...) however I see no reason to believe his parents are anything other than Thai, and if you are curious, do some research on who his parents are before spouting nonsensical innuendo.

PS. My bit of research didn't find out who his parents are, though it would seem that his mother is thai (sister of abhisit).

[geriatrickid]

Well done. Nice to have the real respect of your peers.

Hello? The Oxford Union is not a part of Oxford. It's a private debating club and the titular head changes every semester. Yes, he was elected. Good for him. Congratulations etc.

I wonder if he joined for this reason, as stated in the marketing literature of the Oxford Union;

Oxford's Premier Social Venue

Oxford University students who join become Life Members - once a member, it’s free for the rest of your life. In joining, you will save yourself the price of membership through cheap drinks, frequent social events, free entry to the Purple Turtle, passionate debates, incredible speaker meetings, internet access and library services.

It is not as if he has toiled away in a lab or done fieldwork as many of thousands students in Thailand and the UK do. It may come as a shock, but there are literally hundreds of valuable contributions made by those students in any given semester. Can we please keep this in perspective. The debating club is just that, a social club where a bunch of the students get together and talk up their fanciful notions. It's like getting elected president of a fraternity. I'm sure his family is quite proud of him, but seriously, this is hardly news.

[ginjag]

Well done. Nice to have the real respect of your peers.

Hello? The Oxford Union is not a part of Oxford. It's a private debating club and the titular head changes every semester. Yes, he was elected. Good for him. Congratulations etc.

I wonder if he joined for this reason, as stated in the marketing literature of the Oxford Union;

Oxford's Premier Social Venue

Oxford University students who join become Life Members - once a member, it’s free for the rest of your life. In joining, you will save yourself the price of membership through cheap drinks, frequent social events, free entry to the Purple Turtle, passionate debates, incredible speaker meetings, internet access and library services.

It is not as if he has toiled away in a lab or done fieldwork as many of thousands students in Thailand and the UK do. It may come as a shock, but there are literally hundreds of valuable contributions made by those students in any given semester. Can we please keep this in perspective. The debating club is just that, a social club where a bunch of the students get together and talk up their fanciful notions. It's like getting elected president of a fraternity. I'm sure his family is quite proud of him, but seriously, this is hardly news.

Run of the mill achievement young man anyone could do this according to GK, had it been Yinglucks son it would have been a sensation eh! GK.

Apart from the "congratulation" from you your post is to tread the honour down as if it is nothing.

Well done young Thai man good for Thailand and it's image, different to image that was portrayed over the last 3 years in government.

[DLock]

Good for him.

The contrasts and irony in the political families could not be more polar opposite.

Abhisits nephew becomes the first Thai to be voted President of Oxford Union, the largest student society at Oxford University.

Whilst Thaksins son, Oak, gets caught cheating in his University exams and yet has the audacity to mock Abhisit on Facebook.

Then again, the acorn never falls far from the tree.

[BillyBobThai]

Well done. Nice to have the real respect of your peers.

Hello? The Oxford Union is not a part of Oxford. It's a private debating club and the titular head changes every semester. Yes, he was elected. Good for him. Congratulations etc.

I wonder if he joined for this reason, as stated in the marketing literature of the Oxford Union;

Oxford's Premier Social Venue

Oxford University students who join become Life Members - once a member, it’s free for the rest of your life. In joining, you will save yourself the price of membership through cheap drinks, frequent social events, free entry to the Purple Turtle, passionate debates, incredible speaker meetings, internet access and library services.

It is not as if he has toiled away in a lab or done fieldwork as many of thousands students in Thailand and the UK do. It may come as a shock, but there are literally hundreds of valuable contributions made by those students in any given semester. Can we please keep this in perspective. The debating club is just that, a social club where a bunch of the students get together and talk up their fanciful notions. It's like getting elected president of a fraternity. I'm sure his family is quite proud of him, but seriously, this is hardly news.

Angry old fart are we??

[ginjag]

Well done. Nice to have the real respect of your peers.

Hello? The Oxford Union is not a part of Oxford. It's a private debating club and the titular head changes every semester. Yes, he was elected. Good for him. Congratulations etc.

I wonder if he joined for this reason, as stated in the marketing literature of the Oxford Union;

Oxford's Premier Social Venue

Oxford University students who join become Life Members - once a member, it’s free for the rest of your life. In joining, you will save yourself the price of membership through cheap drinks, frequent social events, free entry to the Purple Turtle, passionate debates, incredible speaker meetings, internet access and library services.

It is not as if he has toiled away in a lab or done fieldwork as many of thousands students in Thailand and the UK do. It may come as a shock, but there are literally hundreds of valuable contributions made by those students in any given semester. Can we please keep this in perspective. The debating club is just that, a social club where a bunch of the students get together and talk up their fanciful notions. It's like getting elected president of a fraternity. I'm sure his family is quite proud of him, but seriously, this is hardly news.

Angry old fart are we??

[tomyummer]

So he forgot to invite Yingluck for a debate as she is a 'world leader'. You know, like the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and Maggie Thatcher.

[moe666]

Well done. Nice to have the real respect of your peers.

Hello? The Oxford Union is not a part of Oxford. It's a private debating club and the titular head changes every semester. Yes, he was elected. Good for him. Congratulations etc.

I wonder if he joined for this reason, as stated in the marketing literature of the Oxford Union;

Oxford's Premier Social Venue

Oxford University students who join become Life Members - once a member, it’s free for the rest of your life. In joining, you will save yourself the price of membership through cheap drinks, frequent social events, free entry to the Purple Turtle, passionate debates, incredible speaker meetings, internet access and library services.

It is not as if he has toiled away in a lab or done fieldwork as many of thousands students in Thailand and the UK do. It may come as a shock, but there are literally hundreds of valuable contributions made by those students in any given semester. Can we please keep this in perspective. The debating club is just that, a social club where a bunch of the students get together and talk up their fanciful notions. It's like getting elected president of a fraternity. I'm sure his family is quite proud of him, but seriously, this is hardly news.

Run of the mill achievement young man anyone could do this according to GK, had it been Yinglucks son it would have been a sensation eh! GK.

Apart from the "congratulation" from you your post is to tread the honour down as if it is nothing.

Well done young Thai man good for Thailand and it's image, different to image that was portrayed over the last 3 years in government.

In GK world only Shins can do good in Thailand, even when they destroy the rice business

[HUAHIN62]

Why is it even mentioned that AV is his uncle. He achieved it on his own and his relationship with AV is irrelevent, unless the article is intended to put the spotlight on AV before he silently floats into political history.

[Terry McEjut]

So he forgot to invite Yingluck for a debate as she is a 'world leader'. You know, like the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and Maggie Thatcher.

Well, at least he got Hamid Karzai and Sepp Blatter, those excellent specimens of virtue.

[Pimay1]

Is he actually Thai or English?

Hang he this is past history,he is a past President, last year and there have been 3 other Presidents since him.

Are they dragging this dusty old news out of the cupboard as a political move to assist his uncle?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Oxford_Union

Why would you even wonder if he is Thai or not? It's possible of course, his mother or father might be British (or thai or german or american or lithuanian or ...) however I see no reason to believe his parents are anything other than Thai, and if you are curious, do some research on who his parents are before spouting nonsensical innuendo.

PS. My bit of research didn't find out who his parents are, though it would seem that his mother is thai (sister of abhisit).

I-Tim is the youngest son of Professor Dr Suttipong Wacharasindhu, a respected paediatrician and Endocrine specialist at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital - I-Tim's mother is Professor Dr Alisa Wacharasindhu who teaches child psychology at Chulalongkorn University's medical school and the elder sister of Mr Abhisit.

[soalbundy]

Well done young man. Great learning experience at a young age if he does choose the field of politics.

I could't agree more but he would be one drop of pure water into the sludge of Thai politics, he won't be able to dilute it, he will be made dirty instead.

[chooka]

Well done. Nice to have the real respect of your peers.

Hello? The Oxford Union is not a part of Oxford. It's a private debating club and the titular head changes every semester. Yes, he was elected. Good for him. Congratulations etc.

I wonder if he joined for this reason, as stated in the marketing literature of the Oxford Union;

Oxford's Premier Social Venue

Oxford University students who join become Life Members - once a member, it’s free for the rest of your life. In joining, you will save yourself the price of membership through cheap drinks, frequent social events, free entry to the Purple Turtle, passionate debates, incredible speaker meetings, internet access and library services.

It is not as if he has toiled away in a lab or done fieldwork as many of thousands students in Thailand and the UK do. It may come as a shock, but there are literally hundreds of valuable contributions made by those students in any given semester. Can we please keep this in perspective. The debating club is just that, a social club where a bunch of the students get together and talk up their fanciful notions. It's like getting elected president of a fraternity. I'm sure his family is quite proud of him, but seriously, this is hardly news.

Is the Purple Turtle the same as the Blue Oyster Bar?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niumQLDL_k0&feature=player_detailpage

[Scamper]

Given the history of this august institution and the history of these debates and the world leaders that have been historically included in them, some people may not realize what an utterly extraordinary achievement this is - for someone of any age - let along a young man of only 21. His words are well-chosen in this interview, and he acquits himself well and with dignity and maturity. Those adults who haven't yet acquired such attributes could learn from him. Again, at any age, so feel free to start now.

There are honours and then there are honours. For some reason some people can't resist bringing his father into the discussion, and there is this numbingly mindless and petty narrative of nationality that has yet again been brought to the surface by those who find their bag of sustainable arguments woefully underpopulated. In terms of the distinction itself - and those who cast aspersions on it - one can be sure that it dwarfs quite soundly the " Doctorate " that Thaksin received, or the " Doctorate " that Chalerm received - both of which are currently recognized in laughing academies.