Because of his underworld activities and the gang conflicts which they involved, Sia L- needed protection and hence he cultivated friendships with military men ;and high officials. In his own words. I was a poor man before and did not have much education. Thus whatever I do I have to rely on friends and connections in politics. He said in an interview with a newspaper that he was friendly with many high- ranking military officers, especially General Sunthorn Kongsompong. He was so close to Sunthorn that he regularly had drinks with him. He also cultivated his relationship with General Chavalit
Yongchaiyuth by assisting with Chavalit s Iasn Khien (Green Northeast) project. With these connections Sia L- received more than just protection. It is alleged that he was helped to expand into logging and trading across the borders into Burma and Laos. On 15 April 1990, a gunman tried to kill Sia L – in Bangkok but he again survived. In hospital he received flowers and sympathy from, among others, Sunthorn Kongsompong, by now the Army supreme Commander, klaeo Thanilul, the most notorious gambling magnate in Bangkok; and the Mp for Surin. The secretary general of the Democrat Party, also visited him on grounds of being an old friend.
By the mid-1980s, Sia L- s influence was also important in parliamentary elections. At the 1980 election , five successful candidates under Boonchu s Connmunity Action Party (Kitprachakom) werw reportedly financed by Sia L- In 1987, Sia L- had an opportunity to show his informal influence over thse MPs,