ฉบับร่าง:วีรภัทร คันธะ

Weerapat Kantha

วีรภัทร คันธะ (อังกฤษ: Weerapat Kantha), เป็นนักการเมืองชาวไทยและเป็นสมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎรจังหวัดสมุทรปราการจากพรรคก้าวไกล ปัจจุบันเขาทำหน้าที่เป็นโฆษกของคณะกรรมาธิการศาสนา ศิลปะ และวัฒนธรรม

Early life and education

Born on 21 June 1989 in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand, Weerapat began his education at the primary school of Piyajit Vittaya School and the secondary school of Triam Udom Suksa Pattanakarn School. After finishing high school, he pursued studies in the Faculty of Social Administration at Thammasat University, the Faculty of Education at Chulalongkorn University, and obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University.

Weerapat has a strong bond with the people of Phrapadaeng, being a distant relative of Veena Raicharoen (Ployngam), the wife of General Yotsanan Raicharoen, former Commander in Chief.

After obtaining his bachelor’s degree, he began working as a news reporter for Voice TV in 2014 and received an Announcer certificate from NBTC. Due to his distinctive voice, he was often responsible for reporting scoop news and once received the Best Scoop News Award from Voice TV. While at Voice TV, he was trained in social news reporting skills by Mr. Weeranan Kanhar and Mr. Prateep Kongsib. His coworkers at that time included Mrs. Pannika Wanich (co-founder of the Future Forward Party), Aekvarunyoo Amrapala (Assistant Secretary to the Governor of Bangkok and Spokesperson of BMA), and Ilada Sugno (Gorya).

Later, Weerapat seized the opportunity to work with famous and successful startups in Malaysia, including Uber and SaleDuck. After working abroad, he returned to Thailand and received an offer to work as a marketing director with Mixberry company. He then pursued his passion for Japan by transitioning from working life to student life at Waseda Japanese Language and Culture School, Bangkok. Parallel to his Japanese education, he attended tourist guide training and received a tourist guide license certified by the Department of Tourism.

Developing deep interests in Japan and traveling, Weerapat became a freelance licensed tourist guide to several countries worldwide, especially Japan. The programs organized by Weerapat were popular among private tour groups due to his knowledge and understanding of Japanese history and culture. Additionally, his programs featured visits to strange and unique places.

In 2019, Weerapat aspired to intensively learn the Japanese language and culture at the Kyoto Institute of Culture and Language in Kyoto, Japan, before returning to Thailand after the COVID-19 crisis occurred.

In June 2021, Weerapat applied to become a member of parliament for the Move Forward Party, got accepted as a candidate for Samut Prakan Province afterward, and served as an advisor for the Committee on Political Development, Mass Communications, and Public Participation. He played an important role in providing assistance to people in the Kru Nok community, Bang Kru, Prapadaeng District, Samut Prakan Province, towards compensation claims for losses from an oil tanker explosion at the IRPC pier.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, Weerapat co-founded the Zen-Dai organization aimed at helping COVID-19 patients all over Samut Prakan Province by providing information about shelters and hospitals, free COVID-19 tests, as well as medical supplies and medicines preparation.

Political Role

Weerapat began his political activism after the 2006 Thai coup d'état by joining the Saturday People, No Dictatorship group (Thai: กลุ่มคนวันเสาร์ไม่เอาเผด็จการ) and Democracy partners. He first appeared on the public assembly stage on behalf of university students at Nonthaburi pier.

Weerapat is known as a supporter of Thaksin Shinawatra. He continually attended several significant political assemblies and made a journey to Siem Reap, Cambodia, for Thaksin’s public appearance.

Amid the trend of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD, commonly known as ‘The Yellow Shirts’), Weerapat strongly condemned the PAD, which led him to become acquainted with political activists. Moreover, he played a role as the public relations representative for the Student Federation of Thailand and was frequently focused on and investigated by public authorities.

During the movement of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD, or ‘The Red Shirts’), Weerapat formed a group of university students for all the people, with more than 200 people participating throughout the country. One of his great allies is Mrs. Suttawan Suban Na Ayutthaya, a former member of parliament from the Future Forward Party and the Move Forward Party in Nakorn Pathom Province. He was also actively engaged in political activities at Yaek Ratchaprasong and Ratchadamnoen Avenue.

During the Thai military crackdown on UDD protests in central Bangkok in 2010, Weerapat and other protesters marched on Silom Road but retreated when real bullets were used, resulting in many injuries by government security forces.

Weerapat suspended his political activism after the serious political violence and then returned after the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protest occurred in 2013. Together with the Red Shirts, Weerapat harshly criticized the PDRC protest, including Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, for his attempt to create conditions allowing the military to seize power and control. Later, he suspended his political activism again after the 2014 Thai coup d'état led by General Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

In 2020, Weerapat repeatedly joined the People’s Mobs and Flash mobs due to his differing views on the Thai Government's management of COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, he sympathized with the Thai people for the tragic events they experienced. Therefore, Weerapat decided to run as a candidate for the Move Forward Party and was elected as a member of parliament in District 6, Phrapadaeng District (except Bang Chak), Samut Prakan Province, known as the most unbreakable election ground in Samut Prakan Province with 37,730 votes, leaving the second and third places behind (the second: Mr. Thapakorn Kuljaroen from the Palangpracharath Party, the third: Mrs. Naruemon Thandamrong from the Pheu Thai Party).

After being elected, Weerapat wasted no time in developing the Traffy Fondue system and submitted a request to the Governor of Samut Prakan to order local administrators in the province to use it as a tool to facilitate the people.

As for his role in Parliament, Weerapat serves as a spokesperson for the Committee on Religions, Art, and Culture. He has a significant impact on supporting and promoting sustainable tourism and community culture, especially in preserving ‘Songkran Phrapadaeng’, restoring the ‘Phlaeng Faifa Fortress’, and the ‘Air Raid Shelter’ in Phrapadaeng. He also coordinates solutions to local environmental law problems, land tax laws, water problems in Bang Kachao, and truck problems in Pu Chao Saming Phrai area. Furthermore, he organized an expedited discussion to solve the steel grid road problem, which has been a problem for more than 10 years, and this project will be completed in 2024. Currently, Weerapat and his team are in the process of creating a service system for locals and tourists to generate income for locals.

Weerapat is known to be a fan of Japanese culture, manga, games, and anime. He regularly works with the Move Forward Party and the Japanese Embassy of Thailand on Japan-related topics. He is now an advisor to the Thai-Japan Friendship Group and a committee member of the Thai-Switzerland Friendship Group. Moreover, he was selected as a representative of the Thai parliament at the APPU conference in Japan, where he presented the story of Bang Kachao in the Country Reports for other countries to be informed.