CP Group patriarch Dhanin, 84, chosen as senior citizen of the year

The National Committee on the Elderly voted unanimously to select the 84-year-old as this year’s National Senior Citizen to honour him for his contribution to society for over four decades, Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said on Saturday.

Somsak chaired the committee’s meeting that made the decision.

Dhanin deserved the honour because he was behind the True Plookpanya project, which has offered equal educational opportunities to young Thais for more than 40 years, Somsak said.

A total of 53 candidates had been nominated for this year’s National Senior Citizen award.

Dhanin is the senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand (CP Group), one of Thailand's largest conglomerates. His net worth is US$12.5 billion (448 billion baht), according to Forbes.

After having served as chairman and CEO of CP Group for 48 years, Dhanin in 2017 named his eldest son Soopakij as its chairman and youngest son Suphachai as the CEO.

At the meeting, the National Committee on the Elderly also acknowledged policy proposals regarding the population crisis and ageing society, Somsak said. These include the expansion of the “time bank” project in preparation for Thailand’s transition to an ageing society. The “time bank” concept involves members “depositing” their time to provide basic services to other members, such as running errands or taking someone to hospital, and they can “withdraw” that saved time when they need those services.

Somsak explained that time banks were available in 32 countries, including New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom. In Thailand, the time bank project has been implemented in 80 areas, but the deposited time still cannot be exchanged for money.