Makan in Thailand

[Meanmachine]

I missed BKK Yaowarat seafood, this is the time of the year i usually visit thailand to shop , feast, massages & s/fin soup, those store ard Chiantown are famous for Temple visitation and get lost on alleyway, tradition prevails and the highlights on all shopping mid-end for guy tailor suits and lots of gifts for family and colleagues. . . . wonder how is Chinatown situation now during this period ?

[Shibadog]

5 hours ago, Meanmachine said:

I missed BKK Yaowarat seafood, this is the time of the year i usually visit thailand to shop , feast, massages & s/fin soup, those store ard Chiantown are famous for Temple visitation and get lost on alleyway, tradition prevails and the highlights on all shopping mid-end for guy tailor suits and lots of gifts for family and colleagues. . . . wonder how is Chinatown situation now during this period ?

seems busy in this vid from June

 

[Shibadog]

I miss a lot of the simple street food in Thai. I hope the places that used to rely heavily on international tourists manage to survive this trying period.

pad say yew (aka char kway tiao) in Hatyai

khao muk (thai style briyani) in Hatyai. Pick your choice of fried chicken parts.

thai goreng pisang at a morning market. Sweet, hot, crispy and very enjoyable in the cold weather up north

pad thai in Sing Buri

[steveluv]

On 8/21/2020 at 5:19 PM, Meanmachine said:

I missed BKK Yaowarat seafood, this is the time of the year i usually visit thailand to shop , feast, massages & s/fin soup, those store ard Chiantown are famous for Temple visitation and get lost on alleyway, tradition prevails and the highlights on all shopping mid-end for guy tailor suits and lots of gifts for family and colleagues. . . . wonder how is Chinatown situation now during this period ?

Yaowarat stalls are basically all still surviving. At atmosphere in the air is somewhat different now without tourists. Was there on Thursday to buy some stuff went to 2 shops for makan:

Chicken rice

And a roast pork stall

[steveluv]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Turbulent-Thailand/Thai-protests-grow-on-streets-and-online-Five-things-to-know?utm_campaign=RN Subscriber newsletter&utm_medium=one time newsletter&utm_source=NAR Newsletter&utm_content=article link&del_type=3&pub_date=20200823120000&seq_num=2&si=44594

Thai protests grow on streets and online: Five things to know
Secondary school students show solidarity while Facebook group draws 1m members

Pro-democracy students raise three fingers, a gesture of resistance, during a protest rally in front of the Education Ministry in Bangkok on Aug. 19.   © AP
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerAugust 21, 2020 18:41 JST

BANGKOK -- Youth-led pro-democracy protests have swept Thailand. Big or small, they occur almost every day somewhere in the kingdom, calling for broad reforms. At least 55 out of 76 provinces have had rallies since mid-July.

About 20,000 people gathered on Sunday at Democracy Monument near the administrative heart of Bangkok, making it the biggest rally since a coup in 2014. Some protesters were not afraid to raise a debate on Thailand's long-standing taboo -- the role of the monarchy in politics and society.

What are the protesters' demands?

At Sunday's rally, organizer Free People presented three demands: the dissolution of both chambers of parliament, the rewriting of contentious parts of the constitution, and an end to official harassment that inhibits people from exercising their fundamental rights.

They said no coup should be staged and no national unity government should be formed in the future.

The tone of these requests was less radical than when 10 proposed reforms to the monarchy were read out by a spokesperson for another protester group, Student Union of Thailand, on Aug. 10 at Thammasat University. But the underlying message is the same: Allow Thailand to segue to a democratic form of government with the monarchy under the constitution.

The lighter tone made it easier for people to join the rally, and attendance swelled to about 20,000 people.

What drove people to the streets?

Political and judicial developments since the March 2019 general election have young people questioning if their say has been marginalized. Over 7.3 million voters under 25 years old took part in that election; it was their first opportunity to exercise voting rights.

Those who initiated the recent pro-democracy movements most likely cast ballots for Future Forward, a party founded in 2018 by 41-year-old billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. The party's pledge to update the constitution, cut the military budget and bring the military under civilian control resonated with discontented youth. Future Forward gained 6.3 million votes, or 17.8% of the ballots, and won 81 out of 500 lower house seats.

But the charismatic Thanathorn lost his parliamentary status in November 2019 after the Constitutional Court ruled he had violated laws prohibiting election candidates from owning shares in media companies. In February, the same court ordered the disbandment of Future Forward for illegally accepting funds from Thanathorn. While the authorities insist they were enforcing the law, young Thais saw something else, the muzzling of the progressive party and its leader.

Faith in the country's justice system further deteriorated in July, when the public became aware that a hit-and-run case against Vorayuth Yoovidhya, the grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, had been quietly dropped by the attorney general's office back in January.

An economy pushed to the brink by the pandemic also has many Thais up in arms. It shrank by 12.2% during the three months ending June, compared with the same period the previous year.

How are these different from past rallies?

A willingness to challenge long-held taboos is the biggest difference between the recent rallies and past ones, and it has been fostered by the anonymous nature of the internet.

Thailand's history is filled with protests and coups. For about a decade up until the 2014 coup, the main protesters were so-called Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts. The Red Shirts were supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now a fugitive, and included many rural poor. The Yellow Shirts were concentrated in Bangkok and were seen as representing urban elites and the old status quo. Although their clashes often led to bloodshed, taboo subjects like the monarchy remained off-limits.

Students leading the current rallies are mostly from middle-class families. As children of the internet age with wider access to information, young adults wonder why their country has had 20 constitutions and 13 successful coups since 1932. Their realization has led to doubts about the nature of the country's politics.

Social media has also played an important role. Accounts of injustice, violence and abuse of power, which were often kept under wraps in the past, are in plain view online.

Is the movement gaining momentum?

To be sure, the 20,000 who showed up for Sunday's rally were far fewer than the crowds of 100,000 that the Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts used to attract. But the movement should not be underestimated as the youth groups are still gaining support, online and off.

Secondary school students have begun to wear white ribbons and give three-fingered salutes during morning assembly. These are expressions of silent rebuke to the government.

Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers and scholars have stood with the movement, praising it for invoking a bold debate, and saying the students and protesters have only exercised their freedom of speech and have not violated laws.

Royalist Marketplace, a private Facebook group that openly discusses the role of Thailand's monarchy, reached 1 million subscribers on Wednesday, an increase of more than 40% from a month ago.

What happens next?

Free People has said it will give the current administration about a month to meet its requests. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday shrugged off the demands. On Wednesday, he reiterated that some are impossible to implement.

Police officers at the criminal courthouse in Bangkok. Thai police arrested nine pro-democracy activists in a crackdown on growing protests.    © AP

The group said it will escalate the rallies if its demands are not met. Free People has not yet announced a date for its next rally but has revealed a plan to hold an overnight sit-in. Meanwhile, a group of Thammasat University students is set to organize a large protest for Sept. 19 at the university's Tha Phra Chan campus, located near the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

The government is expected to allow protests as long as they remain peaceful. According to Traisuree Thaisaranakul, the government's deputy spokesperson, Prayuth has told authorities to be patient and show restraint if goaded by protesters, and that forceful control measures are to be avoided. But he has also warned protesters not to violate the rights of others.

Thailand is currently under a state of emergency due to the pandemic, with Prayuth wielding a decree that gives him overwhelming power to limit people's rights while minimizing the cabinet's role. The prime minister, who led the 2014 coup, has not limited protesters' assembly rights in the name of the emergency decree.

But the authorities have charged those who have spoken at the protests with sedition. On Wednesday and Thursday, nine activists, including a member of hip-hop group Rap Against Dictatorship and human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, were arrested. They were released on bail by Thursday night.

Putchapong Nodthaisong, spokesman for the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, said the ministry will file a complaint against Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at Kyoto University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, for creating the Royalist Marketplace group. "We have filed a request to Facebook to delete the entire group, but the platform hasn't been cooperative," Putchapong said.

Prayuth on Wednesday chaired a special meeting of security agencies. According to a local report, the agencies were told to maintain order if the protests develop into unrest. In the past, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej often acted as a mediator during times of political strife. With the monarchy now being a subject of debate, it is uncertain how the current discord might shake out.

Edited August 23, 2020 by steveluv

[steveluv]

Hope more soldiers and police are like these 3

[Jamesc]

Not only Tom Yum I think they should register Thai massage

as a United Nation Intangible Cultural Heritage also.

[Jamesc]

23 minutes ago, steveluv said:

Hope more soldiers and police are like these 3

I am a Boy Scout and this is my salute also.

[steveluv]

For those who missed Bangkok's Huai Khwag night market

 

For those who missed Bangkok's Ratchada Road

 

 

[steveluv]

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Rise of Thai king's guard erodes Prayuth's sway over army
Military reshuffle comes as prime minister faces anti-government youth protests

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha attends a photo session with new cabinet ministers at the Government House in Bangkok on Aug. 13   © Reuters
MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondentAugust 28, 2020 13:14 JST

BANGKOK -- Trusted military allies of Thailand's monarch have moved to extend their reach into the armed forces, the country's most powerful political institution, alienating Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha from a pillar he needs to prop up his government.

This jockeying for influence played out during the behind-the-scenes lobbying to finalize the promotion of commanders of the army, air force and navy by September, according to well-placed political sources and military insiders.

The annual reshuffle of flag officers takes on added political significance this year, since it comes as Prayuth, a former army chief himself, faces growing youth-led anti-government protests, the likes of which have not been witnessed since the ex-general grabbed power in a 2014 coup.

According to military insiders, Gen. Apirat Kongsompong, the hawkish army chief and palace favorite, lobbied for Gen. Narongphan Jitkaewthae, the assistant army chief, to succeed him in September as the new commander of the army, which has 335,000 active-duty troops.

Narongphan, the sources add, is trusted by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who began placing a stronger personal stamp on the military soon after his accession following his father's death in October 2016. Narongphan is due to hold the army commander's post till 2023, a three-year spell expected to further consolidate the realignment of palace-military ties.

In a country where demonstrations of loyalty to the monarchy are prized, both Apirat and Narongphan wear theirs around their neck -- special shirts with a red rim around the collar. The shirts show they have passed special training for soldiers in the elite Royal Command Guard, also known as Royal Guard 904, which answers only to the king.

The two generals also belong to the King's Guard, a Bangkok-based military faction with a rich army pedigree. The monarch himself served in the ranks of the Wongthewan, as the King's Guard is called in Thai, during military service in the 1970s while he was crown prince.

Prayuth had favored Gen. Natthapon Nakpanich, the deputy army chief, to be Apirat's successor. But the prime minister was unable to make headway against the choice of the monarch, who wields ultimate authority in this Southeast Asian kingdom, and of Apirat.

"Apirat doesn't like Natthapon. ... there is some bad blood between the two going back to competition as they rose through the ranks," said a military intelligence insider. "And he is close to the king and wanted to carry out the king's request."

Prayuth's bonds with Natthapon deepened after he was picked to serve on a government committee to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

"Prayuth wanted a dependable ally as the next army chief to deal with the rising political tension sparked by the protests," added the insider. "Narongphan does not have close ties with Prayuth, just a professional relationship. It is more likely he will listen to the king than to the prime minister."

A similar turn has shaped promotions in the air force, an increasing source of palace loyalists in the wake of former Air Chief Marshall Sathitpong Sukwimol serving as the influential private secretary to the king. Political insiders say that a U.S.-trained officer, Air Chief Marshall Airbull Suttiwan, has been eyed to command the air force, leapfrogging senior figures vying for the top post.

"This year's reshuffle shows how much say the king had in the promotions," said one insider. "Airbull has the king's backing."

Seasoned military analysts say that Prayuth will be on unfamiliar ground after the changing of the guard in September. Together with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda -- both former army chiefs themselves -- Prayuth formed a powerful troika that staged the 2014 putsch to overthrow an elected government. They enjoyed unbroken rule, first in a junta and then as a military-leaning government after the controversial 2019 general election.

But while the trio of ex-generals had a firm grip on the government and the defense ministry, still packed with their allies, questions emerged over support they could command from the military since the 2016 reshuffle.

"The subtle schism between Prayuth-Prawit-Anupong on one side and the post-2016 army leadership on the other has increasingly intensified, especially with the ascension of the Wongthewan to senior army postings in 2018 and beyond," said Paul Chambers, an expert on Thai national security at Naresuan University in northern Thailand. "Especially since 2018, Prayuth has not been able to be assured of military backing."

Even among the colonels -- often deployed to lead troops in coups, of which Thailand has had 13 successful military interventions since absolute monarchy ended in 1932 -- there is growing discontent with the "saam paw," a reference within the ranks to the Prayuth-Prawit-Anupong troika.

The trio has been accused of "using the military to stay in power, especially in terms of relying on soldiers to bolster Palang Pracharath in power," said Chambers, referring to the new political party formed ahead of last year's election to serve as a vehicle for Prayuth and his military allies to rule the country. "Prawit has relied on military carrots and sticks to cajole coalition parties and Palang Pracharath factions to follow Prayuth's lead."

Other observers say military operations in Bangkok -- pivotal to launching or crushing coups -- are beyond Prayuth's control. A new military blueprint unveiled by the king has realigned troops in the capital under the Royal Guard 904, whose numbers have swelled to a well-trained force of 7,000 and are expected to double in the months ahead. Roped into such exclusive royal service are units from the 11th Infantry Regiment, the 4th Cavalry Battalion and the 1st Infantry Regiment, which has been in the vanguard of past coups.

But this redeployment -- which appears to rule out the prospect of the previous style of coups -- has not stopped rumors of another putsch. Bangkok-based diplomats heard talk of a possible coup attempt on the eve of the anti-government protests led by students in the capital's historic quarter on Aug. 16 -- a rally that drew over 20,000, the largest public outpouring of rage since the 2014 coup.

"The rumor was about Apirat being unhappy with the way the government was handling things regards the protests and was planning to step in to address it," an Asian diplomat confided.

A military intelligence source expects the rumor mill to churn through September, when youth leaders are planning a larger protest in the middle of the month.

"A coup will happen only if there is a confrontation during the protests and people try to kill each other," he said. "There are tense days ahead for the transition from Apirat to Narongphan."

[Meanmachine]

Thanks SteveLu for the constant updates on Thailand / Bkk, guess a country who depend a lot on tourism suffers the most, just like Bali etc.

We look forward to C-19 be cleared and new beginning will continue to bring cheers to all countries, however we are aware the C-19 will somehow hiding some where lurking for careless citizens. Meantime, stay safe and United.

[steveluv]

4 hours ago, Meanmachine said:

Thanks SteveLu for the constant updates on Thailand / Bkk, guess a country who depend a lot on tourism suffers the most, just like Bali etc.

We look forward to C-19 be cleared and new beginning will continue to bring cheers to all countries, however we are aware the C-19 will somehow hiding some where lurking for careless citizens. Meantime, stay safe and United.

Thank you and you too keep safe and healthy.

 

[steveluv]

Thursday morning drive along the famous/infamous Ratchada Road

 

 

[steveluv]

Had this gin and cheese dinner a few days ago at The Brasserie restaurant located in Crystal Park

 

[steveluv]

https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-miseducation-of-king-rama-x-20200824-p55otc.html

The miseducation of King Rama X

By Michael Ruffles
August 30, 2020

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn in 2018. He spent six years as a young crown prince in Australia, studying first at the King’s School in Parramatta before four years at the Royal Military College Duntroon and time with a regiment in Perth.Credit:AP

When Qantas flight 736 touched down in Sydney just before 8am on Saturday, September 5, 1970, a shy young man was on board. He was carefully guarded, with a king’s most trusted aide on the flight plus a security detail, and his best friend along for the ride. No visa or entry permit was needed as the only son of Thailand’s king was waved through immigration; a diplomatic passport was packed in case it came in handy.

After being greeted at the airport by a group of Thai students, the 18-year-old was escorted to the Wentworth Hotel to get down to the business at hand. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn Mahidol had to get ready for school.

Nearly 50 years later he is King Rama X, a controversial figure who has been the subject of the strongest protests against Thailand's throne in decades, arguably since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932. In nearly four years since his father’s death, Vajiralongkorn has shown himself to be much more overtly interventionist in politics, consolidated army units under his direct command and converted a sovereign wealth fund into a personal fortune.

Vajiralongkorn spent six years in Australia, studying first at the King’s School in Parramatta before four years at the Royal Military College, Duntroon and time with the Special Air Service Regiment in Perth. The National Archives of Australia has 490 pages of declassified cables and memos from that time, detailing how diplomats and bureaucrats concerned themselves with military drills, pocket money and more.

While Vajiralongkorn’s school results have been expunged and other material redacted on the grounds it could harm international relations, the archives reveal the government was worried about everything from rumours of an assassination attempt and political turmoil in Thailand to his older sister’s love life. Looming over all was King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the young man's father.

Unhappy in its own way

The file begins in December 1968, when ambassador David McNicol dropped off a prospectus for Duntroon at the palace. Bhumibol was hoping military school would make a man of his son, but feared a great power might manipulate the prince for its political ends. It would be helpful too because the armed forces would be the “dominant ruling group for a long time to come”, as an aide said to the ambassador, in a country where “the mass of people were not ready for democracy”.

“The king and queen informed the Australian ambassador in Bangkok that the Crown Prince was [redacted] proud and nationalistic; nevertheless he had his good points,” reads one Department of External Affairs memo from mid-1970.

Thailand's Crown Prince talks briefly with a welcoming group of Thai students on his arrival at Sydney Airport in September 1970. Credit:Antony Matheus

Thomas Critchley, Canberra’s man in Bangkok from 1969 to 1973, was most often in the middle, typically dealing with the king’s principal private secretary or Bhumibol directly.

Critchley also had to break bad news: entry to Duntroon required graduating high school, and Vajiralongkorn's results from study in England were not good enough.

The King’s School in Parramatta, with the country’s oldest cadet corps, was an obvious choice. A minor Thai royal, Panadda Diskul, was already a student there, although the palace was keen to keep them in separate houses. (The son of a diplomat, Panadda was a career bureaucrat until drafted into the cabinet after a coup in 2014.)

On Vajiralongkorn’s arrival in Sydney, officials quickly concluded the prince had no chance of matriculating without a full year of high school in 1971. Persuading the palace took some delicacy.

Sir Keith Waller, secretary of the Department of External Affairs, wrote to Critchley that Vajiralongkorn “should not be exposed to the embarrassment of failure in the February 1971 [matriculation] examinations and to commencing the Duntroon course with an inadequate educational background”.

Critchley’s audience with Bhumibol on October 16, 1970, settled it: another year at Parramatta before Duntroon in 1972. “He spoke critically of the schooling in England which the Crown Prince had hated,” Critchley reported. “On the other hand the Crown Prince seemed to be settling in well in Australia and appreciated the friendliness with which he was being received.”

Declassified material pertaining to the education of then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn in Australia. Credit:National Archives of Australia

Between five and seven hours a day with tutors plus private study helped. “When he first came to Australia the prince was unable to write more than five or six lines on any topic but is now able to write quite respectable essays,” Sir Keith wrote in a confidential telegram to Bangkok in late 1970.

By the middle of 1971, with the aid of tutors and special attention from teachers, The King’s School was pleased with his improvement and “impeccable” behaviour. “He is not a difficult person,” one heavily edited memo says. “The problem is basically one of determination and attack.”

In September he had an “excellent chance of passing” when the king wondered whether he might send Vajiralongkorn to Britain to launch a frigate being built for Thailand. Sir Keith spoke to Vajiralongkorn, who “clearly does not want to go but will of course comply with the king’s wishes. He is working very hard and although much calmer than he was last year, is suffering from very natural pre-examination tension. The possibility of a trip to England in the present atmosphere is adding to these tensions.”

It was an unnecessary worry. After a phone call, the king changed his mind.

Twists and turns

A sprained ankle during the school holidays meant the prince's Duntroon days did not get off to a good start. The first five weeks adjusting to college routine were the most difficult, the Bangkok Post reported, as “any cadet falling short of the standards was woken up 30 minutes early and had to stand in the cold, open field with a load of about 16-20 kilograms on his back”.

Whatever progress Vajiralongkorn was making was soon overshadowed by a scandal involving his older sister.

The Crown Prince at Duntroon in 1972. Credit:National Archives of Australia

Princess Ubolratana Mahidol, who last made international headlines when Vajiralongkorn kiboshed her attempt to become prime minister in early 2019 and who recently sided with young protesters, was studying in the US in 1972 when she ran off with a man.

Academics at Chulalongkorn University were sharing stories of how the princess had asked for permission to marry a Mexican. When a diplomat refused permission, “the princess said that she was going to be married anyway”. Journalists were sharing similar stories, “except that the press understands her to be marrying a Puerto Rican”.

Sir Keith shared the rumours on July 11 with the commandant of the Royal Military College, Major-General Sandy Pearson, with a word of caution that “any sort of entanglement on the part of the Crown Prince could be a major disaster”.

Two weeks later, Ubolratana resigned her title to become a “common citizen”. Rumours of falling pregnant to her maths tutor at MIT, and of her mother seeking to persuade her to fly to Switzerland “either to have [an] abortion or to release baby for adoption” were reported to Canberra. A few days later they evolved again, with Queen Sirikit apparently bringing Ubolratana home from the US to have the baby privately in a southern palace. (Ubolratana married a fellow student in August 1972; the first of their three children was born more than eight years later. She did not return to Thai public life until after her divorce in 1998.)

As it rocked the palace, the scandal also rattled Australia’s diplomatic ranks. “This development in the royal family will tend to focus attention on the crown prince’s activities in Australia,” charge d’affaires Leslie Gerard Sellars wrote in a confidential memo. Vajiralongkorn’s views of marriage seemed germane; the prince had recently told a reporter he would “accept whoever was chosen” as his wife.

The Thai royal family in 1966 in England, from left: Prince Vajiralongkorn, Princess Sirindhorn, 11, Princess Chulabhorn, 9, Queen Sirikit, King Bhumibol and Princess Ubolratana.Credit:UPI

The year ended with Vajiralongkorn returning to Bangkok for a ceremony marking the 20-year-old’s status as heir apparent. Pearson wrote to Critchley beforehand urging against making too much fuss about his progress at Duntroon.

“He is obviously unsure of himself, needs others to lean on and is seeking security,” Pearson wrote. “Should the king wish to hold a ceremony in December installing him as Crown Prince, then I would suggest for the Crown Prince’s sake that it be just that and not to celebrate his passing his first year at Duntroon.”

Life and death threats

At 6.23pm on Thursday, July 5, 1973, a machine in Canberra spat out an urgent message: the managing editor of the Bangkok Post had heard Vajiralongkorn had been shot, "could we please have immediate advice".

The reply was sent at 7.11pm: "Rumour is completely false repeat false."

For the rest of the month, however, the embassy was asked one variation of the question or another: was Vajiralongkorn shot in the leg? Did a bodyguard die trying to protect him? Did the queen fly to Australia and on her return try to kill one of the men who orchestrated the attempt?

While none of the above were true, new Duntroon commandant General Bob Hay discussed them with Vajiralongkorn on July 26. In a letter to Critchley the following day, in which he also reported an “acceptable level” of progress in military matters despite a weakness in topography, Hay wrote of the prince’s concerns. “It is clearly an unsettling influence and he has given some thought to the reasons behind it. There are no special security arrangements at the college … it is a pity the source of the rumours cannot be located.”

The stories climaxed at the end of the month when the palace publicly denied them, and having photographs of Vajiralongkorn at Duntroon in the media did dampen some speculation. The Australian embassy said only the prince’s reappearance in Bangkok would put them to rest, and formed the view that the stories had been started to discredit one of the so-called "three tyrants" who had ruled Thailand for a decade. After a student uprising in October, with the backing of Bhumibol, military rule came to a brief end and the “three tyrants” went into exile.

The Crown Prince during the graduation parade at Duntroon in 1975.Credit:Fairfax Media

As Thailand underwent upheaval, the prince was deep in rugged terrain south-west of Moruya in NSW. A camp from November 5 to 28 simulated a search-and-clear operation by a battalion against a low-level insurgency. Snakes, flies and mosquitoes were the other enemies, as it was hot and dry for the first 14 days before the weather deteriorated into near-monsoon conditions. “Staff Cadet Mahidol participated quite actively, although he had some difficulty in the rough going because of ankle weakness,” Hay wrote to the palace.

While Vajiralongkorn was in the bush learning the finer points of counter-revolutionary warfare, cables were flying between Canberra and Bangkok about the Crown Prince's future education. Much of what was discussed is still secret, but the upshot was Vajiralongkorn undertook a different academic course to his peers in the following two years.

Radio waves

Political turmoil prevented Bhumibol from visiting Australia, and appears to be the reason he interrupted his son’s study at the end of 1974. For all the correspondence between diplomats, Vajiralongkorn had received only the occasional phone call and three letters from his father during the first three years at Duntroon. In December and January, they spent a lot of time together.

Vajiralongkorn was ordered home early to accompany the king on all public appearances and a tour of Thailand. Bhumibol gave his son “a strong dressing -down” before sending him back to Duntroon, but let him into a private radio monitoring post where the king listened to the army and police signals through the night.

On return to Australia, Vajiralongkorn confided to his company commander that what he heard through the bank of radios left a profound impression. Sick and fatigued from travel, he was described as “generally in a state of considerable shock as a result of impressions and experiences during his visit home. He had mumbled incoherently a great deal."

Australian ambassador Marshall Johnston replied that it had been the king’s intention to “draw his attention to the responsibilities of the monarch and he probably found the experience somewhat traumatic, bewildering and overwhelming”.

Thailand's King Rama X is carried through the streets of Bangkok during the second day of his coronation ceremony in 2019. Credit:AP

“The relationship with the king seems a rather formal and distant one,” Johnston wrote. “The prince’s relationship with his mother seems closer although it also appears to an outsider to be lacking in warmth.”

Given the political ructions, Queen Sirikit was invited to attend the graduation ceremony while King Bhumibol stayed behind. The queen danced with her son at the graduation ball, as per tradition, and Vajiralongkorn received a commission as a captain in the Royal Thai Army from governor-general Sir John Kerr.

His academic results were glossed over. Johnston assured the palace the graduation ceremony would not cause any embarrassment to the royal family. “It is most important that the prince should not be made to feel different or inferior or to lose face in any way. If this happened we would risk losing the tremendous goodwill we have built up here by training the prince at Duntroon. I hope, therefore, this question will be approached with imagination and flexibility.”

The file peters out after the ceremony, although we know Vajiralongkorn spent much of 1976 with the SASR in Perth and his years in Australia left him better trained than most in the Thai military. For Thailand, it was also the year an ousted dictator returned from exile with Bhumibol’s blessing and student protests erupted.

On October 6, 1976, police and right-wing militia shot, lynched, burnt and raped students, leaving 45 dead in a massacre that continues to haunt the country. Vajiralongkorn, called back from Australia, had landed in Bangkok only days before.

Michael Ruffles is the chief sub-editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.

[steveluv]

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/2020/08/30/opinion-the-irony-of-a-facebook-group-critical-of-the-monarchy/

OPINION: THE IRONY OF A FACEBOOK GROUP CRITICAL OF THE MONARCHY
By Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer -August 30, 2020 8:00 am

A screencap of ABC's interview with Pavin Chachavalpongpun

That the Thai government’s initiative to pressure Facebook to geo-block aFacebook group critical of the monarchy in Thailand has backfired big time is for all to see.

Less than a week after the Thai government of Gen Prayut Chan-ocha ‘successfully’ threatened Facebook to block access to “Royalist Marketplace” in Thailand on Monday night or face a legal battle, Facebook caved in. A new marketplace was created and attracted members even faster than the last one.

It was nothing short of a full-blown Streisand effect. The Thai government’s attempts to regain cyber sovereignty have utterly failed, even though the Digital Ministry deputy permanent secretary said last week that the group shared false information deemed a threat to national security.

The situation is worse now with the world watching and organizations like Human Rights Watch decrying violations of people’s right to free speech.

The man behind the group with a million members is Thai academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun who lives in Kyoto. He ends up being sought out for interviews from media around the globe over the past days, from The New York Times to Berlin’s leftist Taz newspaper and even a Singaporean TV station. 

It helps promote a new marketplace as yet to be geo-blocked as of press time in Bangkok. The icing on the cake was probably an invitation for him to speak at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. He does not face any real threat of extradition to Thailand, regardless of what the Thai government may claim.

As of press time, the newly created political ‘marketplace’ is less than a week old, but it has already gained nearly 900,000 members. One cartoon compared Pavin to the new Moses, leading the monarchy critics in an exodus to the new Promised Land. 

On Wednesday, I was alerted to a pending invitation by a member of the new marketplace to join. I posted on Facebook and Twitter asking for the views of my friends and followers whether I should accept the invitation and join. The answer was an overwhelming ‘yes’ and ‘what are you waiting for!’.

So I did. Then I tried posting this message:

“May I remind that everyone should try to use factual information as much as possible. And not accuse anyone without substantiation, so the the new Royalist Marketplace would not end up being assumed by Facebook to be like what the Thai government’s accused it of. And so it could be a centre for learning.” 

The post never appears on the new ‘marketplace’.

It tells me that the group is Pavin’s fiefdom, after all. This is not a real marketplace of ideologies where people argue and communicate freely, it’s merely Pavin’s virtual ideological dominion. 

As admin of the group, Pavin decides what he likes to appear or not appear on the market place. The group might be more aptly described as Pavin’s Ideological Marketplace and not a true marketplace of exchanges of ideas and views.

In the end, after days, that simple gentle reminder was not ‘approved’ by Pavin to appear on the new marketplace. He basically blocked the post. No, he didn’t block. Pavin, while crying foul for violations of freedom of his group’s speech instigated by the Thai government, simply decided my message was not fit for print.

Probably he found it potentially sobering, or even demoralizing as the place is pretty much a free-wheeling venue of frenzies for anyone wanting to not just criticize but trash the monarchy, even when there’s little or no substantiated evidence. 

Hey, I get it, it’s free speech! But free speech not for all? At least not in Pavin’s royal marketplace realm. Even in the old realm which is now geo-blocked by Facebook, Pavin had earlier declared some intruding members from the other side of the political camp as persona non grata and deported a few from memberships, thus they won’t be able to even type comments following numerous Pavin-approved status made by others. 

(I am strangely reminded of ultra-royalist Thais who say if you don’t love the king, then leave the kingdom!) 

While acknowledging the invaluable importance of the ‘marketplace’ in opening up critical debate about the monarchy, it’s also disturbingly similar to the Thai semi-military government desire to be able to control what contents can appear in Thailand and what must not. 

That’s why they pressured and threatened to take legal actions against Facebook to begin with. And this led to the geo-blocking of the Pavin’s original marketplace.

Thank Buddha that the best Pavin can do is to kick me out of being a new member of the new marketplace and I can still see most of the posts as a spectator. No lese majeste law protecting Pavin though.

The supreme Facebook group administrator still tolerates me as a member, and thus spectator of his influential group as of press time.

Ironic isn’t it. A man who is fighting for greater freedom for Thais to exercise online freedom of expression is also a rather active gatekeeper, keeping away what he doesn’t see fit to be published online in his marketplace from appearing. 

Pavin simply can’t bear anything that’s off message on his virtual realm. There he rules supreme, absolute, not answerable to anyone as the Facebook group’s administrator except to Facebook itself.

Long may Pavin rule and reign his new royal marketplace with populations, oops members, the size bigger than some Pacific island nations. Under his dominion with foresight and righteousness, he shall bestow us with what we should read.

I’d end this column by being fair to Pavin and conceding that the ‘marketplace’ also offers a place for Thais to scrutinise and criticise the monarchy and more in an environment where Thai mainstream mass media self-censored itself on anything mildly critical of the institution. 

In this regard,  it serves as an invaluable virtual space for much-needed expressions. And credit goes to Pavin with the reservations I am pointing out about in this column.

[steveluv]

I always feel sad for Thailand where good and clever people have to leave their important position either by force or by choice.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Comment/Thailand-s-economic-wizard-throws-in-the-towel?utm_campaign=RN Subscriber newsletter&utm_medium=daily newsletter&utm_source=NAR Newsletter&utm_content=article link&del_type=1&pub_date=20200831123000&seq_num=10&si=44594

Thailand's economic wizard throws in the towel
Former deputy PM Somkid falls victim to ruling-party infighting

Thailand's former Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak in Bangkok on June 14, 2017.   © Reuters
TORU TAKAHASHI, Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Headquarters for AsiaAugust 30, 2020 12:00 JST

BANGKOK -- Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, facing criticism against his draconian rule, replaced six economy-related ministers on Aug. 12 in a bid to jump-start the county's pandemic-battered economy.

The prime minister replaced members from the academic sector with former business executives. Newly appointed finance minister Predee Daochai is a former president of Kasikornbank and energy minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow was formerly chief of PTT Global Chemical, the largest petrochemical company in Thailand.

Three ministers -- all academics-turned-politicians -- stepped down on July 16, about a month before the cabinet reshuffle: Finance minister Uttama Savanayana, energy minister Sontirat Sontijirawong and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who led the economic policy team.

Though Supattanapong doubles as deputy prime minister, Prayuth ultimately controls Thailand's economic destiny. But the country's gross domestic product plunged 12% on year in the April-June quarter, with no assured plans for recovery. Some voice concern about ex-military man Prayuth to steer the economy, underscoring the void left by the departure of Somkid, who long served as the person in charge of economic policy.

In June, when rumors of a cabinet reshuffle surfaced, Somkid was confident of retaining his positions. "If the present team cannot get the job done, they should not stay on," he said. "If [the] new team has no ideas about how to do it, or cannot do it, then don't come."

Partly due to infighting within the ruling party, however, pressure on Somkid gradually mounted. In early July, he said wearily, "I have been prepared for a long time. I am old now. I already lost [my] heart years ago." Six days later, he stepped down as deputy prime minister.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is an ex-military man with little experience in steering an economy, making Somkid's departure all the more serious.   © Reuters

Somkid did not appear at a news conference to announce his resignation. Instead, he had his right-hand man Uttama tell the media that he was resigning for health reasons. For a heavyweight in Thai politics -- Somkid served as deputy prime minister for two five-year stints -- it was a weak farewell announcement.

How has Somkid affected Thai politics and the country's economy?

Following his education at Thailand's prestigious Thammasat University and the National Institute of Development Administration, he earned a doctorate from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the U.S. There, he studied under Philip Kotler, known as the father of modern marketing, co-writing with his mentor "Marketing of Nations," a book that explores marketing strategies to increase a nation's competitiveness.

Dissatisfied with only constructing theory, the ambitious Somkid wanted to put it to practice. In a Nikkei article titled "My personal history," Kotler named Somkid as one of his better students. The American also recounted when Somkid, who was teaching at his Thai alma mater in the 1990s, asked his mentor advice about staying in the academic sphere or entering politics. Kotler encouraged him to try his hand at politics.

At the time, Somkid had been invited by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to enter the political arena. When Thaksin set up the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1998, Somkid joined. His high stature in the TRT came to light when he was ranked third on the party's list of candidates for the 2001 general election. After the TRT swept to victory, Somkid was tasked with formulating economic policy as deputy prime minister-cum-finance minister.

Somkid, left, who supported former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for years, was the principal architect of the country's economic policies.   © Reuters

Somkid put his marketing genius to work creating village funds, an investment and lending program for more than 70,000 villages. The one village-one product scheme, modeled from Japan's Oita Prefecture, encouraged each village to promote one local product. He also promoted exports of automobiles and foods through two campaigns aptly labeled "Detroit of Asia" and "Kitchen of the World."

A series of Thaksinomics measures at the time were not necessarily Somkid's. According to a diplomat in Thailand then: "His true value [was] his outstanding ability as an organizer, who combines a variety of ideas, theorizes them then translates them into a policy.

His political fortunes began to rise to the point where he was regarded as a serious candidate for prime minister. This became moot, however, when a coup d'etat dethroned Thaksin in September 2006.

Deciding to work for the military junta, Somkid became an economic envoy, a move that infuriated the anti-Thaksin camp, which forced him to resign from the post in a week. Unsurprisingly, he was also labeled by the pro-Thaksin group as a traitor to the party. In those tumultuous days, Somkid mulled forming his own party. When the TRT was disbanded in May 2007 on charges of election irregularities, Somkid had his citizenship suspended for five years, after which he disappeared from the political spotlight.

Somkid returned after another coup in 2014 that again toppled a Thaksin government. He was appointed by the junta as an adviser, then as deputy prime minister in August 2015. It was the first time in nine years that he was in the deputy prime minister's seat, where he again oversaw the Thai economy.

"Somkid told me to tell him any problem I have, as he always respects the opinions of Japanese companies," said Soji Sakai, executive officer and general manager of the Chubu branch of trading house Marubeni. "I sometimes visited him to petition the Thai government. He quickly and appropriately dealt with our petitions. He was not a man of words, but really a man of action," Sakai noted.

Sakai, who met Somkid as the president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok, believed that Somkid was always thinking about the interest of his country.

Somkid devised brilliant strategies during his second deputy premiership from 2015, including Thailand 4.0, an initiative to upgrade the industrial sector and push the country into the ranks of developed countries. He was also one of the architects of the Eastern Economic Corridor, a project to transform coastal industrial areas into sophisticated industrial hubs. Compared with his previous deputy premiership, when annual GDP growth was roughly 4% to 7%, growth at this time was in the 3% to 4% range, even before the pandemic, exposing Somkid as not quite the economic whiz as he had been under Thaksin.

"If Somkid wanted to use his expertise for the nation, he couldn't help but give up on the old boss and work for the junta," said a former bureaucrat who worked with Somkid in the Thaksin government. He added: "Thaksin was a businessman with a deep understanding of economic policy, and lent his full support to Somkid's strategy. Prayuth, however, is a military man. The stage for Somkid to exercise his full abilities was so different."

The ongoing student-led demonstrations in Thailand are not a war of ideologies like in the past between pro- and anti-Thaksin groups. Instead, they seem to represent a clash of generations. Somkid's resignation symbolizes the end of an era.

The day he left the government on July 16 marked the first anniversary of the Prayuth government. Somkid was surely successful to choose the day to show that he is the victim of a power struggle within the ruling party. He abandoned his responsibility as a top economic minister in the midst of the coronavirus crisis knowing that his action creates a void in the country's economic strategy. This behavior, uncharacteristic of an academic, may imply that he guards an ambition to one day return to politics.

[steveluv]

https://www.volup2.com/articles-and-blog/2020/6/5/a-journey-of-healing-through-music-malinda-herman-by-luke-simonsen

A Journey Of Healing Through Music; Malinda Herman by Luke Simonsen Translated by Jordan Riviere
Photo: Malinda Herman Youtube Channel

Thailand native, self proclaimed ‘hipster grandma’ Malinda Herman has had quite the spectacular journey and personal relationship with music. After going viral online from posting her cover of More Than I Can Say  around 10 months ago she gained quite the following from her beautiful singing, guitar playing and her infectious pets. Every video she posts always has one of her three dogs or her cat either cuddled up or trying to sing with her in the background of her videos, which have melted hearts around the globe. Her Chihuahua “Jiw Jam” which roughly translates to “Small and Pretty” is especially fond of Malinda’s singing and is the pet cuddled up next to her in most of her videos. Malinda and her chihuahua have racked up 1.06 million subscribers and 38,921,883 views on her youtube channel as of June 2020.  

Photo by Malinda Herman 

Almost three years ago before adopting Jiw Jam she visited her Salon where some of the employees noticed her demeanor to be very sad at the time. They had a bunch of puppies they were giving up for adoption and offered her to pick one out because of the way she was feeling at the time. At first she picked out one of the puppies in the litter to take home but Jiw Jam would not stop following her and trying to love on her. Once she picked up Jiw Jam she knew it was a match made in heaven and their deep love for each has been eternal ever since. Because of their relationship she named her profile on Youtube หญิงชรา กะ หมาน้อย which translates to Old Lady with Dog, which is quite fitting. 

However making this account and singing with Jiw Jam was never about going viral for the 69 year old Thai woman. Around 20 years prior to her internet fame, Malinda was involved in a tragic car accident and the left half of her face because of the crash became paralyzed. For about 2 years after the accident she did not let anyone see her face because she was ashamed of her troubles with talking and eating and appearance. The doctors told her that without undergoing surgery she would not be able to regain movement on the left side of her face, but that was not a route she wanted to take. However this did not mean she wasn’t yearning to recover some other way. So instead of surgery, after the accident she started doing some different daily vocal exercises to try to regain some movement in her face. These vocal exercises are very similar to the ones that I used to do in my own singing lessons when I was a kid. After practicing the boring basic vocal exercises for years her son bought her a guitar, knowing she loved to sing before the accident and when he was growing up. 

Photo: Pet Lover BY Jerhigh / Facebook

Once she started playing guitar and actually singing instead of doing vocal exercises, Malinda could finally start to feel her facial muscles loosening up which also helped her mental health immensely. After starting to sing daily, Malinda started her Youtube channel in 2016, posting covers that she enjoyed singing and listening to. However one day, a couple years ago, she put Jiw Jam in her lap and started singing and playing guitar and Jiw Jam absolutely loved it and curled up in her lap and fell asleep. Ever since that moment, Jiw Jam always runs to Malinda and curls up in her lap every time she starts to sing, which then became a huge part of her videos.   

Photo: Malinda Herman / Instagram  

In late August of 2019 in an interview with Coconuts Bangkok she estimated her recovery at around 75% which has inspired so many people across the globe, especially those who don’t like partaking in surgery for personal reasons. She has been amazed and inspired by the response she has received with her videos and is blessed to entertain and heal others within her own journey of healing. In a comment under her first video that went viral, she says “If I sing and make you happy, I will keep singing. Thank you” and we all hope that she will for her sake and ours. Thank you for spreading your light Malinda.