Political Biographies

[GWR]

Chamlong Sri Muang

http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/ImgAwardees/ImgSrimuangCha.gif

A surprisingly detailed biography of the man who encouraged Thaksin Shinawatra (:eek: :confused: :( :rolleyes: ) to enter politics; from the Magsaysay Award people:-

http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/BiographySrimuangCha.htm

[Scuba22]

Wow, thanks for this, very cool bio. Not just of Chamlong, but it's a nice overview of major political events of the recent past, which is not easy to find somehow.

Do Thais get taught this stuff at school? My impression is that "history" refers to ancient kings at Ayutthaya or Sukhothai, and "modern history" or "current events" don't get much play at school. Am I wrong? If not, why isn't this sort of information more widely available?

Cheers,

Scuba22

PS - the bit about Chamlong being worried that liberal abortion policy would ruin the country was particularly interesting. abortion always seemed like a bizarre topic for all the emotions it evokes - I mean, shouldn't we be talking about poverty or war instead?

[GWR]

Do Thais get taught this stuff at school? My impression is that "history" refers to ancient kings at Ayutthaya or Sukhothai, and "modern history" or "current events" don't get much play at school. Am I wrong? If not, why isn't this sort of information more widely available.

With Chamlong, I think it's important to note that he remains a Major General. He may have perhaps been deeply disturbed by his own involvement in the 1976 debacle, but his reaction was to cultivate a rather paternalistic piousness. Chamlong is actually a fine example of how you need to pick your heroes with extreme care; for fear that the 'ouster' becomes just as paternalistically tyrrannical as the 'ousted'. His advisory role to Thaksin has shown that he is full of contradictions.

The majority of school administrators probably err on the side of caution when it comes to Thai Social History; apart from those subject areas that can can be easily propagandized. Many school admins will know that there are reactionaries on their staff who might denounce them in a heartbeat.

Self-censorship is an important factor here: i.e. most people don't read about these subjects as they view them as boring & dangerous. And if they do find these subjects fascinating, they may prefer to maintain a neutral position for safety sake.

[GWR]

Social critic and constant thorn in Thaksin's side. Note that some of these Magsaysay Biogs are a bit dated. His award took place as long ago as 1981:-

http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/ImgAwardees/ImgWasiPra.gif

http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/BiographyWasiPra.htm