Anti-junta rap strikes a chord among citizens

By KORNRAWEE PANYASUPPAKUN 
THE NATION

 

 

The anti-military dictatorship rap song unmasks the “corrupt” military government who are presenting themselves as “heroes,” some say.

 

Prathet Goo Mee (My F*cking Country’s Got), a rap song slamming the junta government, has garnered more than 14 million views on YouTube after it topped Thailand’s iTunes download list on Saturday. The song shows several rappers singing about social and political ills. Many criticisms target the junta government.

 

“The parliament house is the soldier’s play yard. The charter is written and erased by the Army’s boots,” the song says.

 

“The rap song destroys the image the military government had forced into people’s minds – that they are the heroes who return happiness to the country,” Chulalongkorn University philosophy professor Soraj Hongladarom tweeted on Friday.

 

He was alluding to the pro-military song “Return Happiness to the People”, written by Prime Minister and head of the National Council for Peace and Order Prayut Chan-o-cha himself which airs every day on all Thai TV channels.

 

The song presents the Army as a firefighter who comes to put out the fire of conflicts and brings happiness back to the country. It also asks the people to have faith and be patient. 

 

“I have put up with the “Return Happiness to the People” for the whole four years. The lyrics is even more deceiving. Prathet Goo Mee is only 5 minutes long, but they [the military government] can’t stand it.

 

This song is the fruit of repression of the people who have been gagged by the NCPO,” a 23-year-old fresh graduate, who asked not to be named, told The Nation. 

 

“The song reflects the reality of Thai society and fulfils the spirit of a hip-hop song – to talk about oppression and inequality,” said Thitinai, a student at a top Thai medical school.

 

Asked which part of the lyrics reflected the reality, he said, “The country that points a gun at your throat. Claim to have freedom but have no right to choose. You can’t say shits even though it’s full of your mouth. Whatever you do, the leader will see you.”

 

A female college student told The Nation she was afraid to speak her mind and reveal her identity. “I think the song expresses my anguish as a Thai. I was like ‘yeah it is Thailand. Yeah it is my country I am born in. I feel powerless as a Thai person under repeated corrupt governments. I am afraid even to speak what I am thinking.”

 

We are not seeing a fight of guns, but a fight of songs, said the leader of the Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. 

 

He said the Prathet Goo Mee song has “unveiled” the situation in which “dictators” use soft culture like songs to make people unaware that they are being oppressed. What Prathet Goo Mee does is to unveil that, he said.

 

Natee Ekwijit, a famous Thai rapper and member of the Buddha Bless band, said freedom has its limit and that not all of the song’s lyrics are correct, especially the part that says “The country where the panther was slain by rifle”. 

 

“If they [the rappers] had done more research on the black leopard case, they would have known the case is now in court,” he said, referring to the high-profile case of top businessman Premchai Karnasuta, who faces poaching charges related to his hunting expedition in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. Natee wrote there are “dictators disguised in democracy” and that “democratic governments also censure media”.

 

This morning, Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpan, deputy director of the Technology Crime Suppression Division, said police would be able to identify the rappers within a week and would press charges against them.

 

Police believe the rappers’ actions could have violated the Computer Crimes Act, which prohibits computer information inconsistent with the truth, undermines national security or causes public panic. The maximum penalties are a five-year jail term and a fine of Bt10,000.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30357375

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-29

"...The rap song destroys the image the military government had forced into people’s minds – that they are the heroes who return happiness to the country,” Chulalongkorn University philosophy professor Soraj Hongladarom tweeted on Friday..."

 

This is just fascinating.

 

Will this give life to the protest movement(s) that we all know exists in Thailand? No one who looks at the events of 73, 92, 05-06, 09-10, 13-14 and more (a hell of a lot more) can say that the Thai people are merely sheep without a voice or a willingness to speak.

 

That said, the current batch of power-stealers are ruthless as hell; I suspect that few people in the country will forget who gave the orders to fire in 09-10.

 

'Rap' music as the trigger for a new Thailand? 

 

Hmm...

 

Double hmm...

 

I see that at the moment (5am) the number of views is in excess of 17 million.

It also says that the group have disabled the  comments option, which had more than 70K comments, as "some of them violated petty laws but also criminal law". Interpret that as you will.

The video has 15K dislikes and 700K likes.

 

Quite Frankly, I believe all this intense popularity, the message, and the intent will pass in the wind as so many trends might. 

 

A full 15 minutes of attention should be expected and perhaps some associated fall out........yet, nothing substantial will spin off from this ditty. 

 

.....and the clock is ticking. 

 

Something else will replace in a few days to a week, as our extended attention span are not that worthy.

2 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

Quite Frankly, I believe all this intense popularity, the message, and the intent will pass in the wind as so many trends might. 

 

A full 15 minutes of attention should be expected and perhaps some associated fall out........yet, nothing substantial will spin off from this ditty. 

 

.....and the clock is ticking. 

 

Something else will replace in a few days to a week, as our extended attention span are not that worthy.

A rapping Prayuth perhaps bemoaning how he is so misunderstood?

 

The song will not start the revolution.

 

But the juntas reaction to it may.

 

It's bait.

 

 

18 minutes ago, Thailand said:

A rapping Prayuth perhaps bemoaning how he is so misunderstood?

Perhaps rapping prefixed with a 'c'.

 

1 hour ago, Thailand said:

A rapping Prayuth perhaps bemoaning how he is so misunderstood?

 

I am the big big 'P'

I am the Big Daddy

Listen on how I roll

I am an 'A' double 'S' [deleted]

 

 

 

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

The video has 15K dislikes and 700K likes.

Same-same election, but cheaper.

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

This song is the fruit of repression of the people who have been gagged by the NCPO,

a glimmer of hope

I  bet Taksin sponser the rapper........

No matter who you like, everythinge is about politics and manipulation of the voters, so you can get a bite of the cake...

 

Such responses are long overdue. 

Quote

Natee Ekwijit, a famous Thai rapper and member of the Buddha Bless band, said freedom has its limit and that not all of the song’s lyrics are correct, especially the part that says “The country where the panther was slain by rifle”. 

“If they [the rappers] had done more research on the black leopard case, they would have known the case is now in court,”

Huh?

 

Did the black leopard/panther kill itself now with a gun? is that the defense? 

 

My understanding was that the case is related to who shot the animal - the lyrics only say that it was shot, how is that incorrect in any shape or form?

 

Only in Thailand could something like that be argued. 

 

 

2 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

Quite Frankly, I believe all this intense popularity, the message, and the intent will pass in the wind as so many trends might. 

 

A full 15 minutes of attention should be expected and perhaps some associated fall out........yet, nothing substantial will spin off from this ditty. 

 

.....and the clock is ticking. 

 

Something else will replace in a few days to a week, as our extended attention span are not that worthy.

You see Thais as the proverbial frog in the boiling pot.  Turn of the heat gradually and the frog will biol to death.  We can only hope Thais demand a better life for themselves.  

 "I was like ‘yeah it is Thailand. Yeah it is my country I am born in. I feel powerless as a Thai person under repeated corrupt governments. I am afraid even to speak what I am thinking.”

 

 

Brother in Law came to visit on Saturday night and started talking about this. Its significant that my wife, who marched for Suthep on the shutdown Bangkok protests is now seeing the light. She said almost exactly the same as the above quote.

The last time we talked politics, we had a huge argument and weve kept such discussions to a minimum since. This is the first time since the coup that she's admitted her dislike and distrust of the current regime. I see this as encouraging.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Natee Ekwijit, a famous Thai rapper and member of the Buddha Bless band, said freedom has its limit and that not all of the song’s lyrics are correct, especially the part that says “The country where the panther was slain by rifle”. 

 

“If they [the rappers] had done more research on the black leopard case, they would have known the case is now in court,” he said, referring to the high-profile case of top businessman Premchai Karnasuta, who faces poaching charges related to his hunting expedition in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary

Idiot!

Even if/when it goes to court, everybody in the country knows the outcome. Except this gullible numpty.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

This morning, Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpan, deputy director of the Technology Crime Suppression Division, said police would be able to identify the rappers within a week and would press charges against them.

 

Police believe the rappers’ actions could have violated the Computer Crimes Act, which prohibits computer information inconsistent with the truth, undermines national security or causes public panic. The maximum penalties are a five-year jail term and a fine of Bt10,000.

I have a feeling this lot are not going to be in a police station in front of television cameras apologizing to society and offering big wais. I have a feeling they will stand their ground.

I hope & pray anyway.

4 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

I have a feeling this lot are not going to be in a police station in front of television cameras apologizing to society and offering big wais. I have a feeling they will stand their ground.

I hope & pray anyway.

 

 

4 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Do you think they will prosecute before the election and make martyrs of the rappers? Or will they wait until after the election, when as we all expect the military will still be controlling things, and prosecuting them becomes a pointless exercise?

700.000 likes and 15.000 dislikes - junta please note - this is the first truthful and accurate poll about your popularity in 4 years!

But then again I am not so sure about the “dislikes” part of them might have come from the cyber police and some army camps??

And Natee Ekwijit who is (not really famous) just jealous about the success of RAP against dictatorship - he must be a bit confused.

I don’t know what he means by “the case is now in court”? Has he been blind all his life? Let’s wait for the conviction! Hahaha - I can already see the long prison sentence for Premchai!
But maybe he is just another dumb junta hugger because it somehow benefits him.

And the amazing police will identify the rappers within a week??
They are all over the net and tv showing their faces and you need a week ?? Hint- Maybe you should ask them for their phone numbers and addresses next time you see them on tv!

They are mocking you giving interviews thanking the military and police that you have made them famous with your stupid talk of charges - and what do you do? - Talk more about charges yesterday morning it was “only” 10 million views on YouTube 24 hours later we are at 17 million - keep talking!

If they have broken the law - are the police going to arrest the 700.000 people and counting who liked it on YouTube and millions of people who liked, shared, downloaded and discussed it on other social media - who technically broke the law then as well -or are they just going to neglect their duty?








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3 hours ago, Thailand said:

A rapping Prayuth perhaps bemoaning how he is so misunderstood?

The Animals did that song in the 60's ... "oh lord please don't let me be misunderstood" ... perhaps he could do a cover called "oh Buddha please don't let me be misunderstood"?

3 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

The song will not start the revolution.

 

But the juntas reaction to it may.

 

It's bait.

 

 

May not start a revolution but may start a wave of copy cats. Anti junta groups may now find a new way to protest. The junta is caught between a rock and hard place. 

18 minutes ago, boonrawdcnx said:

They are mocking you giving interviews thanking the military and police that you have made them famous with your stupid talk of charges - and what do you do? - Talk more about charges yesterday morning it was “only” 10 million views on YouTube 24 hours later we are at 17 million - keep talking!

Indeed - talk about the Streisand effect on steroids. The Thai bourgeoisie just can't help themselves, can they?

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpan

Big Joke, a man of many hats:

 

Immigration Chief

Deputy Director of the Technology Crime Suppression Division

Spokesman to Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan

Police Poster Boy

 

3 hours ago, Darcula said:

Same-same election, but cheaper.

 

Indeed,band just like an election you can ignore it if you control the guns

Oh ! Amazing, Thai with balls ! First time that I found some !

 

❤️

 

 

4 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

The song will not start the revolution.

 

But the juntas reaction to it may.

 

It's bait.

 

 

If the Junta can ignore this instead of locking everyone up who is involved in it, it will, as all media topics, slowly slip of the high shefl of major interest in the Country and become less toxic due to over use of the song and of course other news worthy items knocking it further down from the top shelf.  If they charge and lock up the people involved, I would suspect it will prove more damaging than just ignoring it.........I believe.

Some troll posts have been removed. 

The problem with the whole repeating endless cycle of army rule, is that one critical vital and compelling dynamic just has to be completely erased from the debate.

So round and round it goes every decade since WW2. 

Some Thai people told me minutes ago they believed it was paid by Thaksin. 

So happy to see this stuff, a breath of fresh air,

was beginning to feel real contempt for Thais with their acdeptance of everything

listening to evil dictator every day on tv, 

now I realise not all Thai are going to accept everything

one example of students I see sometimes I ask them about things like do you think its ok for government to dictate you have relationship, is ok for them to dictate how long your skirt is, hair is, tight your shirt is etc. etc.

 

So good to know their is real thinking population out there,

 

cos if you look out your window, watch the traffic, watch the mindless littering and the small minded face you could easily beleive this is a race of petty <deleted> who only care for small things and still brainwashed by religeon 

 

this is what music is about

18 minutes ago, Tchooptip said:

Some Thai people told me minutes ago they believed it was paid by Thaksin. 

If it is true; finally he did something right.