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TIME: Still, by causing controversies, don't you risk turning some of those who support independence, against you?
Chatu: I think they already don't like independence. If they liked independence then I would have kept very quiet.
TIME: Do you and Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda see eye-to-eye on independence?
Chatu: I probably want more independence than Khun Tarrin, but that is not the major issue. The draft [copy of the Bank of Thailand Act that we were asked to write] stated the governor could not be fired for doing the right thing. But now, in its current form, a governor can be removed for six reasons. Now, if you list six reasons why a governor can be removed, that's asking for him to be removed. It's a matter of balance.
TIME: The press reported that you sneaked out the side door of the central bank last week to avoid meeting Tarrin, but the minister said you actually had met. Why didn't you tell the press?
Chatu: It's their job to find out. They love making up stories. I don't aim to win a popularity contest. I'm here to do a job.
TIME: The minister said, however, that by being silent, you're creating public confusion.
Chatu: Well, he causes confusion. Everybody causes confusion, and most of all the press causes confusion. It's a very difficult job handling the press. I compare them to a mad elephant: you get out of the way and it will still come and stampede on you.
TIME: The press, however, can create an atmosphere in which pressure might build for the government to remove you. Does that concern you?
Chatu: I'm just trying to get things done. I can last forever agreeing with the government on everything, doing what they wish, and come and go with the government. Is that good for the country?
TIME: A lot has been made of the fact that you filed fraud charges against Tarrin's brother, Sirin, relating to a bad loan at Krung Thai Bank. People said you did this because you were on the verge of being fired, and so made it impossible for them to remove you because it would have been seen as retribution.
Chatu: If I wanted to fix the case I would have fixed it a hell of a lot better than that. The central bank's legal department is almost an independent prosecutor.
TIME: Tarrin said that you sent him a letter months ago agreeing to contribute some of the bank's excess reserves to pay off the debt of the Financial Institutions Development Fund [an entity established by the central bank to assist in the rehabilitation of insolvent financial institutions]. Is that true?
Chatu: We always had an agreement, in principle. Quite frankly, we have a rough time getting out a credible estimate on the numbers.
TIME: But if the numbers still aren't clear, isn't there the potential for more conflict in the future?
Chatu: Absolutely.
TIME: Some people argue that, because of they way the central bank mishandled the defense of the baht and started the economic crisis, that the bank has not yet earned independence.
Chatu: We don't have the same system in place. I think any central bank would have collapsed if faced with that regime and faced with the politics and the economics of the past 10 or 15 years. An independent central bank might have got sensible and asked to change the (fixed exchange rate) regime. I don't know.
TIME: But they say that things weren't done right at the central bank, and so...
Chatu: Absolutely. But unless the central bank is independent, they'll never be done right. That's why I have to be controversial, to get these issues out.
TIME: How many more people will the central bank file charges against in relation to the economic crisis?
Chatu: I think all the cases will be completed this year.
TIME: What do you want to achieve in your time at the central bank?
Chatu: I want to lay a strong foundation for restructuring the bank, and I think I'm close to having done that.
TIME: If you're close, does that mean you won't stay as governor much longer?
Chatu: It's hard to say. There are other things I want to do in my life. I want to do something about the way Bangkok looks. There are other things for me to do, where things need changing. Maybe I'll go to Singapore and throw chewing gum wrappers on the pavement just to show it can be done. Maybe I'll be here another 20 years. I don't know. I'm a very untypical central banker. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be giving this interview to you (laughs).