Southeast Asian governments are prone to
gloating over their economic success and are rarely shy when it comes to
cultural assertions. But for all the ranting and raving about Southeast Asia as
a success story, public attitudes just don’t seem to be toeing the official
line.
In fact
resentment in many quarters appears to be on the rise despite attempts by
people in high places to assert their superiority.
Islamic
clerics have proved Malaysia still has one boot firmly planted in the Middle
Ages after they issued a Fatwa against pro-democracy demonstrators and the
Bersih movement, which Prime Minister Najib Razak claims is out to topple him.
They really just want clean elections.
In
Cambodia, the murder of environmentalist Chhut Vuthy continues to rankle after
a government inquiry seemed to raise more questions than it answered, although
the government has moved to quell discontent by announcing the suspension of
land allocations in a bid to curb illegal logging.
In
Thailand, the death of a 61-year-old grandfather has again highlighted the
yawning gap between the ordinary person who walks in the street and the ruling
classes, regardless of political persuasion or the color of their shirt.
Ampon
Tangnoppakul, a polite, working class man who lived with his mother had
suffered from several health issues including mouth cancer that impaired his
speech. He was jailed for 20 years for a crime he apparently knew nothing
about. Four SMS messages had been sent to the personal secretary of the
then-Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, deemed offensive to either the king or
queen. Lèse-majesté laws strictly forbid any action that could defame or insult
the king, queen or crown prince.
According
to media reports quoting court documents, Uncle SMS, as he became known, broke
down and cried when shown a copy of what he was suppose to have sent: “I am
very sorry it offends the King”'
Asked
about the King, he replied: “I love the King.”
He
added that he went to visit the King in the hospital where he signed a book of
well-wishers.
“I did
not do it,” he told the court.
In his
defense, Tangnoppakul argued he didn’t know how to make or send an SMS, is
barely competent with a mobile phone, did not know Somkiat Krongwattanasuk, the
person who received the messages, nor his phone number. Such claims apparently
couldn’t be proven and were deemed irrelevant.
In
Thailand it’s illegal to criticize the courts.
Uncle
SMS remained a much loved figure up till his death. Media reports say the
former truck driver, who liked to babysit his grandchildren, looked much older,
worn out and tired. He often cried in prison.
Not
unlike Chhut Vuthy or Ambiga Sreenevasan – the most prominent of Bersih leaders
calling for fair elections in Malaysia – Uncle SMS became the public face for a
cause.
All
sides of Thai politics have ignored calls for the reform of lèse-majesté laws,
despite a speech from King Bhumibol Adulyadej in which he said he wasn’t
opposed to criticism of the monarchy at all. No member of the royal family has
ever filed a charge of lèse-majesté.
Instead
of reform, both sides of Thailand’s enormous political divide have been accused
of using the laws to silence their critics, and it remains probable that Uncle
SMS was collateral damage – cold comfort for his family and friends but perhaps
a rallying cry for those fed up with this country’s warring politicians and the
legal tactics they deploy.
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