Thai massage king prefers "pimp" label to politician

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Graft-busting "Massage Parlor King" Chuwit Kamolvisit must be the only candidate in Thailand's election who wants to be in opposition -- and he prefers being labeled a pimp rather than a politician.

The fiery former massage parlor tycoon who blew the whistle on scores of corrupt police is proving hugely popular with his Rak Prathet Thai (Love Thailand) Party but says he will shun offers to join any government, preferring to be a big-mouthed backbencher on an anti-corruption crusade.

"I have a lot of enemies -- before it was policeman and now it's politicians. They don't like me because I have a big mouth, but how can I shut up?," Chuwit, 49, told Reuters.

"I just want to be in parliament. I don't have any friends in politics, I accept that. If I had friends, I wouldn't have to form my own party."

The angry man of Thai politics has brought some much needed cheer to a gloomy but pivotal Thai election and his climbing popularity in opinion polls shows he is no novelty candidate, appealing to voters bored by money politics and under-the-table deals.

Chuwit's frantic canvassing has stretched from Thailand's insurgency-plagued Muslim south to Bangkok's racy neon-lit go-go dancing bars. Universities, supermarkets and congested intersections are lined with comical campaign posters showing the mustachioed mafia-esque Chuwit pulling angry faces.

"Politics is like diapers: the more you change them, the better they are," reads one poster showing a stern-faced Chuwit holding a baby.

Another shows him clutching a steering wheel, scratching his head: "How many more times will you lose the way?"

Chuwit entered politics in 2003 after a month in prison having been accused of ordering the illegal demolition of dozens of unlicensed bars on a piece of prime Bangkok real estate he owned.

The police, whom he says he had bribed an average $160,000 a month, refused to protect him, so he went public, releasing the names of the top officers, the sums they were paid, and their frequent visits to his six massage parlors.

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He sold off a lucrative but seedy empire that employed more than 1,000 women and started a hotel business before winning a parliamentary seat in 2005, which he later lost when a court ruled he had registered as a candidate too late.

Chuwit says corruption is eating Thailand and he wants to become a one-man parliamentary watchdog to root out the politicians he says are no better than the country's ubiquitous Mafioso and vice tycoons.

"They say I'm a pimp, but I don't mind. Sometimes I think a pimp and a politician is the same," said Chuwit. "In fact, a pimp is better than a politician. The whole system is corrupt and the government is so corrupt."

The son of a Hong-Kong born father and Thai mother, Chuwit earned a Master of Business Administration degree in San Diego, California, before marrying an American woman, to whom he is now divorced.

Chuwit insists he's not in politics for the money and is the sole financier of a big-spending party that has 12,000 members but only 11 candidates.

He owns a prime piece of land in Bangkok worth an estimated $60 million but refused to sell it to hotel chains, instead turning it into a public park named "Chuwit Garden," the playground for his famous dog "Motomoto," a three-year-old bull terrier whose honesty Chuwit says puts politicians to shame.

He has no regrets about his shady past and says he wants to work to make Thailand a better place.

"I don't feel bad about massage business but I feel bad about my country," he said.

"Maybe I need some respect. I owned massage parlors before, and people insulted me. Even if I am a pimp, I can do something for this country."

Chuwit has twice run for Bangkok governor but his last campaign tanked in 2008 after he punched a reporter in the face. Bangkok seems to have forgiven him and his tiny party has placed third and fourth in several opinion polls.

He admits he made a mistake entering politics but says it's like a gambling addiction he can't give up.

"I don't even like politics," he said. "What I like is to be in a hot tub, with a brandy, a cigar with beautiful girls all around me. I really miss that."

(Editing by Nick Macfie and Robert Birsel)