A digital Casio watch gifted by Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has become a marker of political connections, with ministers and senior officials sporting the inexpensive timepiece.
In 2017, then-deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan faced an anti-corruption investigation after photographs showed him wearing a series of luxury watches. Investigators examined 22 watches valued at more than $1 million. Because it was practical and wanted to share it with others, adding that the gifts were not intended as a political signal, he said Anutin liked the watch.
Prawit said he had borrowed them from a wealthy friend who subsequently died. Thai government spokesman Ekkapob Pianpises, however, dismissed suggestions that the watches were intended to mark membership of a select political group. He was cleared of wrongdoing the following year.
A Casio digital watch priced at less than $60 is gaining prominence among Thailand’s political elite, with recipients of the timepiece gifted by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul becoming known as the “Casio Connection”, according to a Bloomberg report. The Casio AE1200WH, nicknamed the “Casio Royale” for its retro design and world-map display, bears Anutin’s engraved name. Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat, who received one of the watches after a cabinet meeting, said its significance lay in the person who gave it to him rather than its monetary value. He said he had worn it almost every day since receiving it and joked that he had largely stopped using his luxury watches, which cost tens of thousands of dollars.
The watches have appeared on the wrists of cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and political allies, making the affordable accessory a symbol of their association with the prime minister. Anutin, known for his political deal-making, has built alliances across Thailand’s political landscape, including with influential provincial families in his ruling Bhumjaithai Party and senior officials in the Interior Ministry. The watch gifts offer a glimpse into the personal relationships underpinning his political network.
