Yours Toothfully by Dr Chan Joon Yee

Words are very powerful. They can cause nasty things to happen.

Last night, I had a dream. A nightmare to be exact. Like Dr Cai Mingjie PhD, I ended up driving taxi for a living. Being new on the job, I listened to advice from all quarters, including our ministers. I remember someone saying that we should be cheaper, better, faster. I also remember someone saying that taxi drivers should be more productive and drive faster. I took all that advice and ended up with my wheels on one side mounting a road barrier teetering on a disastrous overturn.

Of course, that was just a dream, but judging from the angry reactions from disgruntled citizens who refuse to be suckers, “cheaper, better, faster” was taken very seriously. It’s difficult to imagine how much “strength” some simple words can have.

Next, let’s take a look at Britain’s “hung parliament”. What happens if these guys keep debating and no decision can be made? Is it time for the queen to take centre stage and decide the winner? A hint to that, under somewhat similar situations has already been made even before the British went to the polls. Across the Atlantic in John Hopkins University, Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya spoke to the academics there, advocating a “reform” of the monarchy.

Strong words. What did Kasit mean? In what way did he want the monarchy reformed? Being a Yellow Shirt guy, I would reckon that he might want the clock to be turned back to 1932. Maybe that’s why he’s not arrested for lese majeste. But the Thai press censored this part of his speech. The reason? Not many Yellow Shirts, let alone the average Thai, would accept this “greater role” for the monarchy. Saying things like that may ruffle a few feathers, but probably won’t provoke any violent protests or devious assassination.

Not so fortunate was Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol, an unabashed Red Shirt sympathiser. He mingled freely with the protestors, encouraged them to carry on their fight and even called for the creation a “people’s army”.

Very strong words. Way too strong. So much so that many Red Shirt leaders quickly distanced themselves from that suggestion. A royal army versus a people’s army? Words like these are more than enough to get someone convicted of lese majeste or even treason in Thailand. Not only was the general relieved of his command, a sniper put a bullet into his head when he was talking to foreign journalists.

That may be a fatal blow to the Red Shirts’ movement. I’m not sure. One thing I’m sure of, however, is that this movement has already taken on a life of its own. It’s no longer Thaksin’s political game. The other side has grossly miscalculated the peasants who have now started their own revolution against Thailand’s postmodern feudal system. From the looks of things and if history were to repeat itself, they probably won’t score any clear victory.

Diametrically across the globe, the British tabloid came up with numerous spoofs on the monarchy running the country. All done in good humour, nobody got arrested, nobody staged any riots and nobody got shot. Long live the Queen.

For people in Bangkok and Pattaya, the Easter weekend was anything but uneventful. Red shirt protesters stormed into the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and forced the cancellation of the ASEAN Summit. They later moved to Bangkok. Thai PM Abhisit Vejajiva then declared a state of emergency. Arrest warrants were issued for protest leaders, Thaksin called back to fuel the flames and a violent crackdown by the military followed.

Today, the red shirts pulled out of their final stronghold at the government house, protest leaders surrendered themselves and everything seemed to have died down as suddenly as it had started. Of course nobody is complaining. Everybody is relieved, but we all know that this won’t be the end. There is still no resolution in sight. As long as there are no elections, the red shirts will not be happy. As long as anyone even remotely related to the former TRT party gets elected (and chances of that happening are extremely high), the yellow shirts won’t be happy. Election or no election?

Meanwhile, arrest warrants are going out for Thaksin for inciting violence. Some people must hate him for that and I personally hate to see people being sacrificed for some other people’s political agenda. But looking a bit deeper at the red shirts movement, a keen observer will notice that it has gone beyond Thaksin. A number of red shirts have declared that they are not even fighting for Thaksin but a new system. If death and injury occurred simply because people want Abhisit to resign, then I think it’s rather foolish. But if this is a peasant’s revolt to demolish Thailand’s brand of contemporary feudalism, then those who believe in the new system should be prepared to sacrifice a little more.

Elected politicians are always in the limelight. How much can they steal from the country? But what about the “lords” and “knights” influencing the country from behind an opaque curtain? Their names are seldom mentioned. Some names are not even mentionable. It’s this bunch of elite that many generations of short-lived politicians must answer to before they even think about serving the people. For many generations of peasants, getting gifts from the “lords” and “knights” was something to celebrate. To attract more gifts and charitable acts, the peasants must act subservient, always lowering their heads, walking in small steps and speaking softly. Borrowing becomes the first solution to their money problems. Marrying a daughter as mia noi in exchange for money is another alternative.

But times have changed and under Thaksin, radical changes in the mindset of the peasants have occurred. These folks suddenly realised that with the appropriate programmes and funding, they can well be masters of their own fate. They no longer need to rely on the charitable acts of the lords and knights. As long as the state could focus some of its attention to the hinterlands and make them more happening, even poor peasants can become proud owners of profitable farms or factories.

Thaksin is not so much an idol worshipped by the peasants. The red shirts are gathering momentum because of an awakening from centuries of indoctrination. Something is wrong with this rich country and its very humble majority. While it is my wish that the peasants’ dreams will come true one day, the “knights” and “lords” are still too powerful to be toppled with peaceful or even small scale violent demonstrations. Not forgetting the millions of class conscious urban, middle class Thais who despise the peasants and happily embrace traditional beliefs which allow them to share some of the wealth that the elite milked out of the peasants. There is no reason for this group of people to stand with the peasants. In fact, they may even put on yellow shirts and stand against the peasants. Afterall, the tumour is not causing them any pain yet. Why bother to shed blood and excise it?

Having said that, the day may come when even the yellow shirts will see the big picture and turn against the “lords” and “knights”. Why am I ambivalent about it? I hate to think about the casualty numbers and the price that the Thai people have to pay. On the other hand, it’s only with a radical change in this current feudal system that Thai peasants will be able to live as dignified individuals and earn a respectable living without making collect calls to Farang boyfriends to send money.