Tuesday, January 01, 2008
New Year accidents
Posted by Siam at 13:24 PM
________________
The Nation reports on Tuesday ,January 01, 2008
Road accidents claimed 188 lives and injured 2,131 others in the first three days of the so-called "seven dangerous days" of the New Year break, the Road Safety Centre announced yesterday. …
Chaisawat Kittipornpai-bool, the Transport Ministry's permanent secretary, said 1,965 road accidents occurred on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which was 47 higher than the same period last year. …
A total of 188 people were killed - nine more than in the same period last year - and 2,131 people were injured. The figure for injuries was exactly the same as for last year's period, he said.
Bangkokpost reports on Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The holiday period road toll rose to 118 dead yesterday, the second day of the extended New Year holiday, with Khon Kaen registering the highest number of deaths and injuries. A total of 1,254 were injured in 1,117 road accidents across the country from Dec 28-29. ….
deputy permanent secretary for the interior Niran Jongwutthiwet, citing a report from the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.
The fatalities were attributed to drink driving, speeding and cutting in front of other vehicles. Most accidents involved motorcycles, followed by pickup trucks and cars. Most accidents happened about 8pm. …
The ministry has ordered officials in all provinces to set up checkpoints on roads, particularly in communities and villages, and arrest motorcyclists not wearing crash helmets or driving under the influence. …
COMMENT : Oh! My God , It’s really Happy New Year ??!
12/31/2007
12/30/2007
Thailand : The new cold war
Monday, December 31, 2007
Posted by Siam at 12:09 AM
---------------------------------
Chang Noi’s article in The Nation on Wednesday,November 26, 2007
“A new cold war underway in Thailand”
The army seems to have its own view of the current situation in the country, and has defined for itself a prominent role in confronting this situation. This conclusion comes from various documents which are floating around, and whose authenticity has not been denied. It is confirmed by recent actions and policies which are consistent with this way of thinking.
The army’s analysis of the current situation goes like this. There is a “war for the people” in process, meaning a contest for popular support. On one side is the army. On the other are politicians, and especially former communist activists who lurk in the background of party politics. A generation ago, the army won the cold war in Thailand by dragging the communist rebels back from the jungle to a normal life in the city. But, this analysis contends, the activists have never changed their way of thinking or forsaken their ambitions. They aim to use popular support to grab state power, and then to use state power to implement their own agenda, which includes overthrow of the monarchy. Although they now seek popular support through the ballot box, this is not significantly different from the old guerilla strategy of mobilising the villages. Their tools now are the populist policies offered to the electorate. These policies are designed solely to win popular support and gain election to political office. They do not truly solve the problems of the people. Unless something is done to halt this trend, the army analysis concludes, Thailand will find itself in the same situation as Nepal where Maoists have built massive popular support and are trying to replace the monarchy.
According to this view, the army has no larger duty at present than fighting this new cold war. Threats to the country from the outside are insignificant, except for the intrusion of drugs and illegal immigrants. Even the situation in the far south is judged less serious. But the army seems to be already on the defensive in this “war for the people.” It feels it must “win back” the people, especially at the grassroots.
From this analysis of the situation flow strategies and action plans. Several recent actions seem quite consistent with these plans.
First, to win the “war for the people,” the army must be an exemplary institution which is worthy of the respect and support of the people. Certainly in recent months the media have carried few or no stories about soldiers engaged in protection rackets, drug dealing, or other misdemeanours. Army radio is currently broadcasting a line which goes like this: the Thai army is unique amongst the militaries of the world in that it works for the people and is responsible in large part for the country’s successful development; this fact has gained acknowledgement all over the world.
Second, the army must gain the support of other official agencies as allies in this war for the people. Under the conditions created by the coup, army men have had the opportunity to insert themselves into the workings of government at all levels. The army must use this position to persuade officials to embrace the view of the current situation outlined above, and to accept the implications for action.
Third, ministries and other bureaucratic agencies must draw up long-terms plans and insist upon following these plans in their day-to-day operations so that politicians who are put in charge of these agencies will not be able to implement the policies they promise to the electorate.
Fourth, as a first stage of regaining popular support, the army must concentrate on merchants, businessmen, and the middle classes. Programmes with this target have already been launched.
Fifth, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) units at the regional and the provincial level must play the key role in mobilizing people at the grassroots to support the army. These ISOC units can use the kamnan, village headmen, and other official bodies at the local level as their tools to win the “war for the people.” The recent changes, which have converted the kamnan and village headmen back from elective to bureaucratic positions, are consistent with this strategy. Ideally the provincial ISOC units should take control of issues like drugs, illegal migration, terrorism, poverty eradication, drought and flood relief so that these policies are more efficient and help win popular support. To ensure success, army officers need to be better educated and more politically aware so that they are more effective leaders. Demobbed soldiers should be organized to supplement the serving troops, given that the military budget is still insufficient.
Sixth, if these plans are made known to the public, there is a risk that the army will be accused of digging up the past and reviving dictatorship. Hence, these plans must be implemented using a softly-softly approach, and winning the support of strategic allies at every point.
The implications of this army strategy are very deep and wide-ranging. Here only a couple of points can be made.
The urgency to pass the Internal Security Act is clearly linked to this “war for the people”, and especially to the aim of using provincial ISOC units to fight this war at the grassroots. The legislators supporting the bill should be aware of this.
These plans were drafted when it still looked possible for the army to engineer a tame coalition through the ballot box on 23 December. As this seems less and less likely, what must the army do to implement this strategy?
Although the military budget has increased by over 50 percent in the last fifteen months, largely at the expense of social and economic projects, the army hopes for more funds to pursue this strategy.
The fact these plans have floated into the public domain suggests the army is far from united behind them.
How can such a blinkered, outdated, fear-ridden, divisive, authoritarian, manipulative approach ever lead in the direction of democracy?
COMMENT : well, I ‘ve heard … ‘Thailand.. the Land of Smile’ ???!.
Posted by Siam at 12:09 AM
---------------------------------
Chang Noi’s article in The Nation on Wednesday,November 26, 2007
“A new cold war underway in Thailand”
The army seems to have its own view of the current situation in the country, and has defined for itself a prominent role in confronting this situation. This conclusion comes from various documents which are floating around, and whose authenticity has not been denied. It is confirmed by recent actions and policies which are consistent with this way of thinking.
The army’s analysis of the current situation goes like this. There is a “war for the people” in process, meaning a contest for popular support. On one side is the army. On the other are politicians, and especially former communist activists who lurk in the background of party politics. A generation ago, the army won the cold war in Thailand by dragging the communist rebels back from the jungle to a normal life in the city. But, this analysis contends, the activists have never changed their way of thinking or forsaken their ambitions. They aim to use popular support to grab state power, and then to use state power to implement their own agenda, which includes overthrow of the monarchy. Although they now seek popular support through the ballot box, this is not significantly different from the old guerilla strategy of mobilising the villages. Their tools now are the populist policies offered to the electorate. These policies are designed solely to win popular support and gain election to political office. They do not truly solve the problems of the people. Unless something is done to halt this trend, the army analysis concludes, Thailand will find itself in the same situation as Nepal where Maoists have built massive popular support and are trying to replace the monarchy.
According to this view, the army has no larger duty at present than fighting this new cold war. Threats to the country from the outside are insignificant, except for the intrusion of drugs and illegal immigrants. Even the situation in the far south is judged less serious. But the army seems to be already on the defensive in this “war for the people.” It feels it must “win back” the people, especially at the grassroots.
From this analysis of the situation flow strategies and action plans. Several recent actions seem quite consistent with these plans.
First, to win the “war for the people,” the army must be an exemplary institution which is worthy of the respect and support of the people. Certainly in recent months the media have carried few or no stories about soldiers engaged in protection rackets, drug dealing, or other misdemeanours. Army radio is currently broadcasting a line which goes like this: the Thai army is unique amongst the militaries of the world in that it works for the people and is responsible in large part for the country’s successful development; this fact has gained acknowledgement all over the world.
Second, the army must gain the support of other official agencies as allies in this war for the people. Under the conditions created by the coup, army men have had the opportunity to insert themselves into the workings of government at all levels. The army must use this position to persuade officials to embrace the view of the current situation outlined above, and to accept the implications for action.
Third, ministries and other bureaucratic agencies must draw up long-terms plans and insist upon following these plans in their day-to-day operations so that politicians who are put in charge of these agencies will not be able to implement the policies they promise to the electorate.
Fourth, as a first stage of regaining popular support, the army must concentrate on merchants, businessmen, and the middle classes. Programmes with this target have already been launched.
Fifth, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) units at the regional and the provincial level must play the key role in mobilizing people at the grassroots to support the army. These ISOC units can use the kamnan, village headmen, and other official bodies at the local level as their tools to win the “war for the people.” The recent changes, which have converted the kamnan and village headmen back from elective to bureaucratic positions, are consistent with this strategy. Ideally the provincial ISOC units should take control of issues like drugs, illegal migration, terrorism, poverty eradication, drought and flood relief so that these policies are more efficient and help win popular support. To ensure success, army officers need to be better educated and more politically aware so that they are more effective leaders. Demobbed soldiers should be organized to supplement the serving troops, given that the military budget is still insufficient.
Sixth, if these plans are made known to the public, there is a risk that the army will be accused of digging up the past and reviving dictatorship. Hence, these plans must be implemented using a softly-softly approach, and winning the support of strategic allies at every point.
The implications of this army strategy are very deep and wide-ranging. Here only a couple of points can be made.
The urgency to pass the Internal Security Act is clearly linked to this “war for the people”, and especially to the aim of using provincial ISOC units to fight this war at the grassroots. The legislators supporting the bill should be aware of this.
These plans were drafted when it still looked possible for the army to engineer a tame coalition through the ballot box on 23 December. As this seems less and less likely, what must the army do to implement this strategy?
Although the military budget has increased by over 50 percent in the last fifteen months, largely at the expense of social and economic projects, the army hopes for more funds to pursue this strategy.
The fact these plans have floated into the public domain suggests the army is far from united behind them.
How can such a blinkered, outdated, fear-ridden, divisive, authoritarian, manipulative approach ever lead in the direction of democracy?
COMMENT : well, I ‘ve heard … ‘Thailand.. the Land of Smile’ ???!.
Thai Politics and the stars
Monday, December 31, 2007
Posted by Siam at 12:00 AM
---------------------------------
Chang Noi’s article in The Nation on Tuesday,December 11, 2007
“Political fortunes divined by the stars”
At a shrine in Chiang Mai in the middle of last month, two generals from the junta and the wife of a third sat under a three-legged arch decorated with banana plants, sugarcane, coconut fronds, bunches of bananas, gourds, candles, incense sticks, and offerings of food. A sacred thread was strung from the peak of the arch around the heads of the three participants who sat with clasped hands while learned monks from sixteen wat in the city chanted for two hours.
According to reports of this secret ceremony, the participants were Air Chief Marshal Chalit Phukphasuk, Admiral Sathiraphan Keyanon, and Sasini, wife of General Winai Phattiyakul. The army chief, General Anupong Paochinda, was reluctant to attend in person but sent the deputy chief of the First Army as his representative. The group flew to Chiang Mai in a special plane. The junta members, including General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, had made a group visit to the same shrine in April. Sonthi did not attend this time because it was already too late to improve his fortune.
The rite was reportedly staged because the planetary disposition of the junta has entered a difficult phase, resulting in the decline of the junta’s political fortunes which is readily apparent to everyone. General Sonthi’s personal horoscope is especially vexed, and on top he has come under attack using the dark arts. An image of the general has been made according to a magical formula, and then subjected to maltreatment in order to cause harm. Sonthi’s decision to withdraw himself from the upcoming election, after earlier showing his clear intention of running, is reportedly linked with these events.
The rite was arranged by Varin Buaviratlert who has become Thailand’s most famous astrologer. In fact his services range much wider than prediction based on the movement of heavenly bodies and other signals. He is a spirit medium who channels the spirit of a powerful ascetic named Kewalan who resides in the Himalaya mountains. The site of last month’s rite is named the Hall of the Reverend Rishi Kewalan. The generals’ secret ceremony was held in the VIP room on the edges of an annual event organized for people who wish to improve their fortune.
Varin rose to national fame by predicting the 16 September 2006 coup. But he has long had a reputation for his powers, especially among the men in green. General Sonthi had earlier consulted him over his career prospects. Varin discovered that Sonthi had been a general of King Taksin in a past life and was destined to save the country. He predicted Sonthi’s somewhat unexpected rise to become army commander, and helped him with rituals to clinch the prediction. Now Varin is so famous and important that he is guarded by Special Forces troops, his visitors are subject to inspection, and his movements are kept secret.
Varin advises his clients on methods to “correct karma” or “sustain fortune.” Mostly this requires the client to visit many Buddhist wat, listen to chanting, and make donations of money, robes, and other articles. Countering the attack on Sonthi through maltreatment of a magical image might have required something more serious. Usually it is necessary to find and destroy the image, or participate in some rather exacting ceremonial.
At his recent sessions, Varin apparently reported Kewalan’s predictions on the near future. For the generals who feel beset by misfortune, these predictions were comforting. Another coup may be in the offing. There is a possibility of a national government. Although the details and timing are far from clear, the political future seems smothered in green. The medium tried to concentrate on Abhisit but the image would not stabilize, and in a flash was overlaid by men in uniform.
Thai politics have long been at the mercy of spirits, stars, and dark forces. As Chavalit Yongchaiyudh’s political fortunes collapsed in the 1997 crisis, an adept advised his wife never to go anywhere without a toy elephant. Could it have been coincidence that the fortunes of the Democrat Party dived in 2000-1 after disaster befell the party’s trademark statue of the earth goddess, Mae Thorani? The 2006 coup occurred shortly after the Brahma image at the Erawan junction had been destroyed. For many years no politician could hope for success in the northeast until he had been bashed on the head with a roll of paper by the country’s most famous “magic monk,” Luang Por Koon. The King Prajadhipok Institute, established to upgrade the quality of Thai politics, hosted a seminar for political astrologers earlier this year.
Although presenting himself as a politician for the new age of modernity, Thaksin took trouble to get the spirits and stars on his side. He patronized a northeastern monk who specialized in predicting election results until the monk’s life was complicated by a criminal charge. In advance of the crucial court verdict on his asset-concealment case, Thaksin sponsored prayer chanting in several wat. When opposition against him swelled in 2004, he made several visits to a famous seer named ET in Rangoon. In the endgame prior to the coup, Newin Chidchob arranged for Thaksin to benefit from Khmer rites and practices in southern Isan, including walking under an elephant. Although Varin is now closely associated with the junta, Thaksin and Pojaman also count among his fans. Reportedly last month Pojaman paid him a visit for advice on how to “correct her karma” and improve her husband’s chances of returning home. Varin prescribed some wat visits and donations.
Whether politicians are hi-tech businessmen with billions at their fingertips, or generals with battlefield experience and command over thousands of men, they are reluctant to feel that their political careers depend on the will of the people. They prefer to put their faith in planetary movements, spirits, dark forces, chanting, offerings, Burmese seers, Khmer magic, and dead Himalayan ascetics.
COMMENT : Oh ! how can I say ? It’s amazing Thailand.
Posted by Siam at 12:00 AM
---------------------------------
Chang Noi’s article in The Nation on Tuesday,December 11, 2007
“Political fortunes divined by the stars”
At a shrine in Chiang Mai in the middle of last month, two generals from the junta and the wife of a third sat under a three-legged arch decorated with banana plants, sugarcane, coconut fronds, bunches of bananas, gourds, candles, incense sticks, and offerings of food. A sacred thread was strung from the peak of the arch around the heads of the three participants who sat with clasped hands while learned monks from sixteen wat in the city chanted for two hours.
According to reports of this secret ceremony, the participants were Air Chief Marshal Chalit Phukphasuk, Admiral Sathiraphan Keyanon, and Sasini, wife of General Winai Phattiyakul. The army chief, General Anupong Paochinda, was reluctant to attend in person but sent the deputy chief of the First Army as his representative. The group flew to Chiang Mai in a special plane. The junta members, including General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, had made a group visit to the same shrine in April. Sonthi did not attend this time because it was already too late to improve his fortune.
The rite was reportedly staged because the planetary disposition of the junta has entered a difficult phase, resulting in the decline of the junta’s political fortunes which is readily apparent to everyone. General Sonthi’s personal horoscope is especially vexed, and on top he has come under attack using the dark arts. An image of the general has been made according to a magical formula, and then subjected to maltreatment in order to cause harm. Sonthi’s decision to withdraw himself from the upcoming election, after earlier showing his clear intention of running, is reportedly linked with these events.
The rite was arranged by Varin Buaviratlert who has become Thailand’s most famous astrologer. In fact his services range much wider than prediction based on the movement of heavenly bodies and other signals. He is a spirit medium who channels the spirit of a powerful ascetic named Kewalan who resides in the Himalaya mountains. The site of last month’s rite is named the Hall of the Reverend Rishi Kewalan. The generals’ secret ceremony was held in the VIP room on the edges of an annual event organized for people who wish to improve their fortune.
Varin rose to national fame by predicting the 16 September 2006 coup. But he has long had a reputation for his powers, especially among the men in green. General Sonthi had earlier consulted him over his career prospects. Varin discovered that Sonthi had been a general of King Taksin in a past life and was destined to save the country. He predicted Sonthi’s somewhat unexpected rise to become army commander, and helped him with rituals to clinch the prediction. Now Varin is so famous and important that he is guarded by Special Forces troops, his visitors are subject to inspection, and his movements are kept secret.
Varin advises his clients on methods to “correct karma” or “sustain fortune.” Mostly this requires the client to visit many Buddhist wat, listen to chanting, and make donations of money, robes, and other articles. Countering the attack on Sonthi through maltreatment of a magical image might have required something more serious. Usually it is necessary to find and destroy the image, or participate in some rather exacting ceremonial.
At his recent sessions, Varin apparently reported Kewalan’s predictions on the near future. For the generals who feel beset by misfortune, these predictions were comforting. Another coup may be in the offing. There is a possibility of a national government. Although the details and timing are far from clear, the political future seems smothered in green. The medium tried to concentrate on Abhisit but the image would not stabilize, and in a flash was overlaid by men in uniform.
Thai politics have long been at the mercy of spirits, stars, and dark forces. As Chavalit Yongchaiyudh’s political fortunes collapsed in the 1997 crisis, an adept advised his wife never to go anywhere without a toy elephant. Could it have been coincidence that the fortunes of the Democrat Party dived in 2000-1 after disaster befell the party’s trademark statue of the earth goddess, Mae Thorani? The 2006 coup occurred shortly after the Brahma image at the Erawan junction had been destroyed. For many years no politician could hope for success in the northeast until he had been bashed on the head with a roll of paper by the country’s most famous “magic monk,” Luang Por Koon. The King Prajadhipok Institute, established to upgrade the quality of Thai politics, hosted a seminar for political astrologers earlier this year.
Although presenting himself as a politician for the new age of modernity, Thaksin took trouble to get the spirits and stars on his side. He patronized a northeastern monk who specialized in predicting election results until the monk’s life was complicated by a criminal charge. In advance of the crucial court verdict on his asset-concealment case, Thaksin sponsored prayer chanting in several wat. When opposition against him swelled in 2004, he made several visits to a famous seer named ET in Rangoon. In the endgame prior to the coup, Newin Chidchob arranged for Thaksin to benefit from Khmer rites and practices in southern Isan, including walking under an elephant. Although Varin is now closely associated with the junta, Thaksin and Pojaman also count among his fans. Reportedly last month Pojaman paid him a visit for advice on how to “correct her karma” and improve her husband’s chances of returning home. Varin prescribed some wat visits and donations.
Whether politicians are hi-tech businessmen with billions at their fingertips, or generals with battlefield experience and command over thousands of men, they are reluctant to feel that their political careers depend on the will of the people. They prefer to put their faith in planetary movements, spirits, dark forces, chanting, offerings, Burmese seers, Khmer magic, and dead Himalayan ascetics.
COMMENT : Oh ! how can I say ? It’s amazing Thailand.
the Army and Thai Politics
Monday, December 31, 2007
Posted by Siam at 11:45 AM
---------------------------------
www.bangkokpost.com report on Friday,December 28, 2007
“ Army to 'watch politics from a distance' ”
Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said Thursday that the military would not interfere with the formation of a government allied with the ousted premier, but refused to rule out another coup in 2008.
Allies of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a putsch last year, won the most seats in weekend elections, dealing a blow to the military that had sought to rid Thailand of Thaksin's political legacy.
"Political problems must be solved by politics -- the military will only keep watch from a distance, although nobody wants to witness clashes of people," Genl Boonrawd told reporters.
"The duty of the military is finished and next it's the duty of political parties to set up government -- the military will not interfere," he said.
But he added: "I cannot guarantee that there will not be a coup in 2008, just like I cannot rule out a natural disaster."
The generals who seized power 15 months ago have so far been tight-lipped about the electoral success of their foes.
…People Power Party (PPP), which is widely seen as Thaksin's proxy party, won 233 of the 480 parliamentary seats, just short of the absolute majority needed to govern alone.
…PPP are expected to announce the details of their coalition government on January 4, and the Democrats have made it clear that if their rivals fail to put together a government, they will form their own.
Thaksin said earlier this week that he planned to return home by April, but a senior official at the Attorney General's office on Thursday cautioned that the former premier would face arrest on corruption and fraud charges.
Boonrawd, who was installed in his post by the junta soon after the coup, said he was not concerned that Thaksin would return to power and seek to punish the military with a purge of those linked to the putsch.
"I am not afraid of revenge as I consider that the military had done the right thing," he said.
COMMENT : Good! General just keep do your right job.
Posted by Siam at 11:45 AM
---------------------------------
www.bangkokpost.com report on Friday,December 28, 2007
“ Army to 'watch politics from a distance' ”
Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said Thursday that the military would not interfere with the formation of a government allied with the ousted premier, but refused to rule out another coup in 2008.
Allies of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a putsch last year, won the most seats in weekend elections, dealing a blow to the military that had sought to rid Thailand of Thaksin's political legacy.
"Political problems must be solved by politics -- the military will only keep watch from a distance, although nobody wants to witness clashes of people," Genl Boonrawd told reporters.
"The duty of the military is finished and next it's the duty of political parties to set up government -- the military will not interfere," he said.
But he added: "I cannot guarantee that there will not be a coup in 2008, just like I cannot rule out a natural disaster."
The generals who seized power 15 months ago have so far been tight-lipped about the electoral success of their foes.
…People Power Party (PPP), which is widely seen as Thaksin's proxy party, won 233 of the 480 parliamentary seats, just short of the absolute majority needed to govern alone.
…PPP are expected to announce the details of their coalition government on January 4, and the Democrats have made it clear that if their rivals fail to put together a government, they will form their own.
Thaksin said earlier this week that he planned to return home by April, but a senior official at the Attorney General's office on Thursday cautioned that the former premier would face arrest on corruption and fraud charges.
Boonrawd, who was installed in his post by the junta soon after the coup, said he was not concerned that Thaksin would return to power and seek to punish the military with a purge of those linked to the putsch.
"I am not afraid of revenge as I consider that the military had done the right thing," he said.
COMMENT : Good! General just keep do your right job.
Thai bureaucratic culture
Monday, December 31, 2007
Posted by Siam at 11:30 AM
---------------------------------
Chang Noi’s article in The Nation on Monday,November 12, 2007
“The culture of the cultural bureaucracy”
A television ad aired a couple of years ago showed a youth whose back, when tapped, resounded with a loud boinggg. This was supposed to be funny, and there was even a bit of canned laughter after every boinggg to make sure the viewer understood that. The intended message was that the lad’s back was so stiff he could not assume a correct pose of stooping deference. The ad was made by the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry has recently reissued a booklet entitled “Thai Social Etiquette.” The booklet is written in English and offers visiting foreigners the usual tips about making a proper wai, not pointing with the feet, and not patting the head. But it is much more wide-ranging than most such guides. It tells its readers how to sit, eat, lie down, walk, speak, dress, make a phone call, queue for the loo, drink, use a spoon, give a speech, pay a visit, and perform at a seminar.
It is really a handbook on what foreigners should not do in Thailand, but rather a manual on how Thais should behave in their own country. It sums it all up like this:
“In Thai society, where seniority is given much importance and politeness to everyone is stressed, in order to be a person with good manners, one must be aware and careful of almost every gesture or movement, and also of almost every word or sentence one utters.”
Let’s imagine a newly arrived foreigner toting this book along to some of the common everyday spaces in Thai society. At the open-air restaurant, she would find that most of the booklet’s rules (not reaching across, always using a serving spoon, making sure to wipe lipstick off your glass) were being broken at almost every table. The lively atmosphere would make her doubt that all the people present were being careful with their every gesture and their every word.
In a business office or factory, the foreigner would find people interacting without any attention to the booklet’s rules about social behaviour. In a village, all the booklet’s procedures about how to pay a social call would make no sense at all. In the shopping mall, bus, or Skytrain, the visitor would be forced to conclude that almost none of the people were Thai since they did not seem to walk, talk, sit, or dress in the prescribed manner. The booklet warns, “Refrain from holding hands in public as it may have undesirable implication,” and declares that “Men do not roll up their sleeves as if getting ready for a fight,” but the visitor would find even such desperately stern injunctions being transgressed in full public view.
By now the visitor might conclude that the booklet is a work of complete fantasy on the level of Star Wars. But that would be wrong. The society described and idealized in the booklet does exist, but is not “Thai society,” either past or present. Rather it is one rarefied segment of the society, occupied by senior bureaucrats of the sort that work in or with the Ministry of Culture.
They have some defining characteristics. They have a good surname proving they come from a good family—or else they wish they did. They have a private income because it is difficult to maintain the proper public display on the standard bureaucratic pittance—or at least they wish they did. They belong to a profession which used to be very influential but which is being rapidly marginalized as the society becomes richer, more commercial, and more open—and they have nostalgia for an idealized past.
If you remove from the etiquette booklet all the advice which is really universal (e.g., don’t eat with your mouth open), it has one clear message: hierarchy is everything, and deference is always due.
Since its reincarnation in the early 2000s, the Ministry of Culture has had two main roles. First, it administers a small budget to preserve and promote valuable creative work, past and present. This is Culture with a capital C, and is a very valid and necessary role.
But the Ministry of Culture also wants to be the Ministry of culture with a small c. This is dangerous because “culture” is such a slippery word. Does it mean how people actually live? Or how some people think other people ought to live?
In the early years after its rebirth, the Ministry spent a lot of effort compiling a Masterplan defining its role. The first part of this plan goes out of its way to emphasise how varied Thai society is (in ethnicity, region, urban/rural, occupation), and how dynamic it is as part of the modern globe. This part is descriptive—describing how things are in all their messy variety. But moving to the second part which frames what the Ministry is going to do, the plan slips into another mode altogether. This part is prescriptive— prescribing how things ought to be. And this part junks the enthusiasm for messy variety in favour of a much narrower view.
The results have been both hilarious and tragic. The Ministry has tried to outlaw risqué songs on the grounds that they are “against Thai culture” when in fact these songs belong to a great tradition of boisterous counterpoint singing which is the historical culture of far more Thais than the courtly arts. The Ministry rages against “un-Thai” forms of dress which are rather similar to the way most ordinary people dressed around a century ago. Much more tragically, the Ministry has obstructed some highly creative contemporary work in theatre, cinema, and the plastic arts.
In these obstructive actions, as in the boingg-back ad and the etiquette booklet, the Ministry claims a right and duty to impose the values of a declining minority on the society as a whole. Perhaps the Ministry should obey one of the rules from its own etiquette booklet: “Do not scratch here and scratch there.”
COMMENT : I agree with everything in this article.
Posted by Siam at 11:30 AM
---------------------------------
Chang Noi’s article in The Nation on Monday,November 12, 2007
“The culture of the cultural bureaucracy”
A television ad aired a couple of years ago showed a youth whose back, when tapped, resounded with a loud boinggg. This was supposed to be funny, and there was even a bit of canned laughter after every boinggg to make sure the viewer understood that. The intended message was that the lad’s back was so stiff he could not assume a correct pose of stooping deference. The ad was made by the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry has recently reissued a booklet entitled “Thai Social Etiquette.” The booklet is written in English and offers visiting foreigners the usual tips about making a proper wai, not pointing with the feet, and not patting the head. But it is much more wide-ranging than most such guides. It tells its readers how to sit, eat, lie down, walk, speak, dress, make a phone call, queue for the loo, drink, use a spoon, give a speech, pay a visit, and perform at a seminar.
It is really a handbook on what foreigners should not do in Thailand, but rather a manual on how Thais should behave in their own country. It sums it all up like this:
“In Thai society, where seniority is given much importance and politeness to everyone is stressed, in order to be a person with good manners, one must be aware and careful of almost every gesture or movement, and also of almost every word or sentence one utters.”
Let’s imagine a newly arrived foreigner toting this book along to some of the common everyday spaces in Thai society. At the open-air restaurant, she would find that most of the booklet’s rules (not reaching across, always using a serving spoon, making sure to wipe lipstick off your glass) were being broken at almost every table. The lively atmosphere would make her doubt that all the people present were being careful with their every gesture and their every word.
In a business office or factory, the foreigner would find people interacting without any attention to the booklet’s rules about social behaviour. In a village, all the booklet’s procedures about how to pay a social call would make no sense at all. In the shopping mall, bus, or Skytrain, the visitor would be forced to conclude that almost none of the people were Thai since they did not seem to walk, talk, sit, or dress in the prescribed manner. The booklet warns, “Refrain from holding hands in public as it may have undesirable implication,” and declares that “Men do not roll up their sleeves as if getting ready for a fight,” but the visitor would find even such desperately stern injunctions being transgressed in full public view.
By now the visitor might conclude that the booklet is a work of complete fantasy on the level of Star Wars. But that would be wrong. The society described and idealized in the booklet does exist, but is not “Thai society,” either past or present. Rather it is one rarefied segment of the society, occupied by senior bureaucrats of the sort that work in or with the Ministry of Culture.
They have some defining characteristics. They have a good surname proving they come from a good family—or else they wish they did. They have a private income because it is difficult to maintain the proper public display on the standard bureaucratic pittance—or at least they wish they did. They belong to a profession which used to be very influential but which is being rapidly marginalized as the society becomes richer, more commercial, and more open—and they have nostalgia for an idealized past.
If you remove from the etiquette booklet all the advice which is really universal (e.g., don’t eat with your mouth open), it has one clear message: hierarchy is everything, and deference is always due.
Since its reincarnation in the early 2000s, the Ministry of Culture has had two main roles. First, it administers a small budget to preserve and promote valuable creative work, past and present. This is Culture with a capital C, and is a very valid and necessary role.
But the Ministry of Culture also wants to be the Ministry of culture with a small c. This is dangerous because “culture” is such a slippery word. Does it mean how people actually live? Or how some people think other people ought to live?
In the early years after its rebirth, the Ministry spent a lot of effort compiling a Masterplan defining its role. The first part of this plan goes out of its way to emphasise how varied Thai society is (in ethnicity, region, urban/rural, occupation), and how dynamic it is as part of the modern globe. This part is descriptive—describing how things are in all their messy variety. But moving to the second part which frames what the Ministry is going to do, the plan slips into another mode altogether. This part is prescriptive— prescribing how things ought to be. And this part junks the enthusiasm for messy variety in favour of a much narrower view.
The results have been both hilarious and tragic. The Ministry has tried to outlaw risqué songs on the grounds that they are “against Thai culture” when in fact these songs belong to a great tradition of boisterous counterpoint singing which is the historical culture of far more Thais than the courtly arts. The Ministry rages against “un-Thai” forms of dress which are rather similar to the way most ordinary people dressed around a century ago. Much more tragically, the Ministry has obstructed some highly creative contemporary work in theatre, cinema, and the plastic arts.
In these obstructive actions, as in the boingg-back ad and the etiquette booklet, the Ministry claims a right and duty to impose the values of a declining minority on the society as a whole. Perhaps the Ministry should obey one of the rules from its own etiquette booklet: “Do not scratch here and scratch there.”
COMMENT : I agree with everything in this article.
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