Briton With Thai Heart Refuses To Play Politics

[Thaising]

Khon Kaen _ An Englishman with a Thai heart has turned down one political party's relentless efforts to get him to act as a canvasser in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen. Martin Wheeler, 46, has felt the heat of the electoral race. One candidate has set his eyes on the Briton, who has for the past 14 years established himself as a key man in promoting rural development in Ubon Ratana district.

''He [the candidate] told me to talk the villagers into voting for this and that person. I refused because I myself am not eligible to vote,'' Mr Wheeler said in Thai, with an Isan accent.

''I am only a guest, not the owner of the house,'' he said. ''I have no right to meddle in or expect anything from politics.''

The improper proposal had caught him by surprise, he said, adding he had yet to attain Thai nationality.

He was not keen on politics even when he lived in England.

Mr Wheeler currently lives in Ban Kam Pla Lai in tambon Ban Dong with his Thai wife Rojana and their three children Eric, Anne and Derek.

The London University graduate with a distinction in Latin has been tending rice and other crops on the 27-rai farm owned by his wife.

He has earned the villagers' trust as their mentor and lends a hand to farmers in trouble.

''I want the villagers to lead a good life. But I believe politics will not make them any better off,'' he said, adding the locals could take care of their troubles by themselves.

He said many locals did not expect the general election to bring an end to the political turmoil. Thais had mistaken democracy for freedom, but they were totally different issues, he said. The old-face politicians were said to dominate his area, but they had brought little change to local peoples' livelihood.

''Politics is about sacrifice for the sake of the public, not for a particular group of people,'' he said.

Mr Wheeler said he planned to stay in Thailand, citing his love and care for rural communities

Bangkok Post

[londonthai]

Thais had mistaken democracy for freedom, but they were totally different issues, he said.

the problem is - there is no democracy in thailand, and never was.

it's a country ruled by an oligarchy and generals

[OlRedEyes]

Thais had mistaken democracy for freedom, but they were totally different issues, he said.

the problem is - there is no democracy in thailand, and never was.

it's a country ruled by an oligarchy and generals

....and won't be for the next 50 years.

[Prakanong]

adding he had yet to attain Thai nationality.

He's probably still on tourist visas!

He posts on here does he not

A vociferous advocate of the sufficency economy and ants Bankok urbanitesand otehr Thai's to return to the fields and live a subsistence lifestyle as the western Anglo Saxon economic systems fails and disintegrates

Marx and others said the same and look where there theory's and ideologies are now - confined to the dustbin except for a few on the lunatic fringe.

[Prakanong]

Thais had mistaken democracy for freedom, but they were totally different issues, he said.

the problem is - there is no democracy in thailand, and never was.

it's a country ruled by an oligarchy and generals

There is quite a strong correlation between democracy and freedom

Trouble is Thailand and anything like democracy are pretty much strangers.

Edited December 12, 2007 by Prakanong

[GuestHouse]

Briton with 'Thai Heart'.

No - He's a Briton with his British heart - his good deads are down to himself 'nothing Thai Heart about it'.

There are good people the world over, this one happens to be British - he could be any nationallity.

But he gets two lots of my respect he's getting - one for good deads and a kind heart and another huge dolop for this

The London University graduate with a distinction in Latin

I've gone into a cold sweat just thinking of Latin declensions...

[Prakanong]

adding he had yet to attain Thai nationality.

He's probably still on tourist visas!

He posts on here does he not

A vociferous advocate of the sufficency economy and ants Bankok urbanitesand otehr Thai's to return to the fields and live a subsistence lifestyle as the western Anglo Saxon economic systems fails and disintegrates

Marx and others said the same and look where there theory's and ideologies are now - confined to the dustbin except for a few on the lunatic fringe.

You mean the poster Martin, ThaiVisa's Nostradamus?

I am guessing of course but it does sound a lot like him.

Nostradamus - I thought more like E F Schumacher or "Tom Good".

Urbanites back to the land, subsistence and rejection of western liberal economics and ots products - Pol Pot could only do that by force and Mao's attempt failed miserably too and put China back years !

At least he admits nothing will be un-invented but he does nor see humans inventing anything in the future - did the empirical evidence tell us that?

There is no doubt he means well and beleives in his ideology - a lot of the SWP I was at Uni still beleive in theirs despite the evidence and its amazing to still see them years later selling the papers in town centres.

Edited December 12, 2007 by Prakanong

[Prakanong]

Briton with 'Thai Heart'.

No - He's a Briton with his British heart - his good deads are down to himself 'nothing Thai Heart about it'.

There are good people the world over, this one happens to be British - he could be any nationallity.

But he gets two lots of my respect he's getting - one for good deads and a kind heart and another huge dolop for this

The London University graduate with a distinction in Latin

I've gone into a cold sweat just thinking of Latin declensions...

People still study Latin ?

I thought that was only at the type of school where when the Headmaster shouted "HeadBoy" half the school assembly fell to its knee's (Thanks to Julian Clary)

[cali4995]

I saw that on the front page of the Bangkok Post this morning, he does sound like an

extraordinary guy but of course he's only a guest and he can't own anything and how

does he even work on his wife's farm without a work permit? I'll never understand all

these rules. Agree with guesthouse, he's more than likely just an English gentleman,

I'm not sure if you can put Thai spin on it. Hope he doesn't mind all the attention.

[chanchao]

He's saying (or quoted as saying) all the right things though. From those things I'd say he qualifies as 'having a Thai heart'. (Or Buddhist heart, perhaps)

[Prakanong]

He's saying (or quoted as saying) all the right things though. From those things I'd say he qualifies as 'having a Thai heart'. (Or Buddhist heart, perhaps)

Because he happens to be standing in Thailand? - what if he was standing in a different geographical location?

Should it not be a Lao heart?

[Ruperts]

I assumed for a start it meant he had had a transplant.

A 'Thai heart' is a laughable idea in my honest opinion.

There's A LOT of bad hearts in this country.

[Prakanong]

I assumed for a start it meant he had had a transplant.

A 'Thai heart' is a laughable idea in my honest opinion.

There's A LOT of bad hearts in this country.

My first thought was a heart transplant too??

Do they carry them out in Thailand?

I wil ask our Thai office as I must admit i have never seen anything about it.

Edit: Just found out they do heart transplants in Thailand

BKK hospital and Bumrungrad

and may be Vichaiyut and Piyavet

Edited December 12, 2007 by Prakanong

[Boo]

Unless they got the age, location & offspring wrong then it isn't our "Martin", I beleive he lives in another province, is a little bit older & has no children with his thai wife but I will send him the link so he can contribute if he choses.

[cmsally]

I also thought transplant!

But it appears he just has a good heart and those are not constrained by nationality.

I can't see Thai heart being synonymous with good heart, or in fact British heart being synonymous with a good heart.

I guess his opinion carries some weight so they were courting him to be a Hua Kanen !

[WongKarWai]

This guy comes here and gets a cheap third world heart transplant and he wont even campaign for PPP?

[chanchao]

He's saying (or quoted as saying) all the right things though. From those things I'd say he qualifies as 'having a Thai heart'. (Or Buddhist heart, perhaps)

Because he happens to be standing in Thailand? - what if he was standing in a different geographical location?

No, because he declines the opportunity to rant at something, but instead displays a very typical Thai village attitude of minding one's own business, remains respectful but politely declines to get involved without making it sound like he's actively turning someone down. It's a respectful, honest, "non-commitment" while overall remaining polite and modest. As a result he gains a bucket of face, as this attitude resonates really well with Thais.

Compare that with how a typical Thai Visa poster would respond: he'd probably end up ranting and hollering and making the PPP guy lose face and as a result generate unnecessary negativity around him.

Should it not be a Lao heart?

Possibly, but then Lao and Thai culture, manners and attitudes are fairly similar anyway.

Edited December 12, 2007 by chanchao

[londonthai]

the sufficency economy and ants Bankok urbanitesand otehr Thai's to return to the fields and live a subsistence lifestyle as the western Anglo Saxon economic systems fails and disintegrates

Marx and others said the same and look where there theory's and ideologies are now - confined to the dustbin except for a few on the lunatic fringe.

no, marx was saying about industrial action of the workers in the most developed countries at the front of global change - and capitalism as a stage to a more efficient and just socio-economic system.

in his first works (communist manifesto) he did say about a gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country which meant no more than even distribution of population. Mind, that industrialised cities back 150 years ago were a black holes - with cramped living conditions, lack of sanitation, desease, industrial pollution.

subsistence lifestyle is core idea for some environmentalists called primitivists

[bannork]

A high ranking policeman I know, at present in charge of Suan Plu immigration I believe, asked me last month if I knew an Englishman called Martin Wheeler; thinking of the Martin who posts here I said I might, but apparently it's not the same person.

The policeman, Khun Rattawit was full of praise for Martin, he, the policeman, had been to a seminar at Chamlong Srimuang's leadership school in Kanchanaburi where they showed a VCD which he later gave to me of Martin addressing villagers in Khon Kaen province.

Martin recounted how he had had a high position in the chemical industry, if I remember right, but had never felt content with the constant rat race, endless desire for more consumer durables, so he sold up with the intention of moving to Australia.

By the time he got to Thailand he ran out of money so he got a job teaching in Bangkok but he felt uncomfortable teaching and living in Bangkok, drinking etc; so when he met his Khon Kaen wife he moved up there and now has 3 or 4 kids.

It's amusing watching the video as he tells villagers that owning a house in England is very difficult with house prices being what they are, the social ills of generation gaps and alienation,and the dreadful weather where nothing grows for 6 months. A monk is the moderator and the gist of Martin's talk was there was no need for Issanites to leave Issan as they owned their houses, no mortgage, the land was their own and consumerism would not bring lasting happiness. They are masters of their own fate, not slaves to consumerism.

The audience took his points with good humour but some naturally seem disbelieving, after all all the farangs they meet are rich and so must have happy lives.

Martin's wife looked like an educated woman who had turned her back on city life and with twenty something rai they should be okay for a while, even with 3 kids, if they're frugal. To me Martin seemed naive at times, ie when he claimed there was no gambling in the villages! but his heart is in the right place and I guess he's won a place in the villagers' hearts with his sincerity and determination to make a success out of sufficiency economy. I guess there's quite a few of us who feel like him, usually we're lurking on the farming forum on thai visa.

Actually it would be very easy, if rather expensive, to put off any Thai villager from desiring the life of the West- just take them to live in a council estate in Doncaster, Walsall or the wastelands of east Hull for a week in mid-winter and they'd never desire to return, like myself and countless others!

[Prakanong]

the sufficency economy and ants Bankok urbanitesand otehr Thai's to return to the fields and live a subsistence lifestyle as the western Anglo Saxon economic systems fails and disintegrates

Marx and others said the same and look where there theory's and ideologies are now - confined to the dustbin except for a few on the lunatic fringe.

no, marx was saying about industrial action of the workers in the most developed countries at the front of global change - and capitalism as a stage to a more efficient and just socio-economic system.

in his first works (communist manifesto) he did say about a gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country which meant no more than even distribution of population. Mind, that industrialised cities back 150 years ago were a black holes - with cramped living conditions, lack of sanitation, desease, industrial pollution.

subsistence lifestyle is core idea for some environmentalists called primitivists

Well some would not say his Communist Manifsto of 1848 were his first works - he wrote before that.

I was referring to Capitalism being the Western Anglo Saxon Economic system that many have predicted the downfall of including Marx who said it was Imminent.

I studied politics at Sheffield when it was a department full of Marxists during Thatchers zenith - I read the Communist Manifesto for a course but like Harold Wilson was proud to say I found Das Kapital unreadable

[GuestHouse]

No, because he declines the opportunity to rant at something, but instead displays a very typical Thai village attitude of minding one's own business, remains respectful but politely declines to get involved without making it sound like he's actively turning someone down. It's a respectful, honest, "non-commitment" while overall remaining polite and modest. As a result he gains a bucket of face, as this attitude resonates really well with Thais.

What he does and what he says however admirable remains his own beahviour nothing to do with having a 'Thai Heart' because he hasn't got a Thai heart - It's his own, and while he's British I'd not claiming it as a British Heart - its his - I hasn't got a flag stuck in it - Or at least I doubt it has.

But they whole idea that because he behaves in a manner that fits with the behaviour of some Thais he must therefore have a Thai heart is ridiculous and only reafirms the idea that the very admirable qualities that he displays are somehow Thai.

They are not.

It would be no different than if the claim was made that ANOther foreigner had a Thai heart after hearing an account of how slapped his wife about, deserted her and his children for a minor wife and sat around drinking the local hooch until he became either unconcious or fell into a fit of rage and shot a neighbour over some petty argument they had six years ago.

Two pictures of Thai behaviour, neither wholy true, neither wholy untrue.

Let's admire good behaviour for what it is and credit it to the person who exhibits that good behaviour - No need to assign it to some fable of Thai behaviour and values.

Respect and good behaviour are valued around the world - They are also found around the world.

This guy seems to have brought some from the UK to Thailand - Good for him.

Edited December 12, 2007 by GuestHouse

[mrbojangles]

Good post bannork,

but i gotta disagree a tad on this point.

Actually it would be very easy, if rather expensive, to put off any Thai villager from desiring the life of the West- just take them to live in a council estate in Doncaster, Walsall or the wastelands of east Hull for a week in mid-winter and they'd never desire to return, like myself and countless others!

Council estate or not, the pure fact that a Thai can earn bigger money over here than in Thailand, is a big lure for a many of them. Even just doing a cleaning job in the UK, can earn you enough to build a very nice house in a village, in just one year.

As you know, many people from villages go to the big cities for work and earn about 200-250 baht a day and they live in far worse conditions than a council house in "Doncaster". My Mrs has alot of land in the Chaiyaphum area and it's lovely but to be honest, i wouldn't like to live there full time. Each to their own i suppose.

[Martin]

I just saw the message from 'Boo', drawing my attention to this thread.

No. I am not Martin Wheeler. My surname is up the other end of the alphabet.

I have a VCD, given to me by one of the rural development ajaarns at KKU, about Martin Wheeler's village, and in which he appears, but I have not, as yet, met him.

I was greatly amused at some of the misconceptions about me revealed in some of the posts above.

Incidentally, I don't have a Thai heart (at least, not in the literal sense), but I have had Thai wires probing into my coronary arteries. I can recommend the KKU Teaching Hospital (Srinakarind) for either angioplasty or open-heart surgery should the need arise for any of you, or National University Hospital, Singapore (who did an earlier angioplasty on me on the other side of my heart. That job was still in fine shape ten years later when we saw it on the screen at KKU Srinakarind Hospital).

[chanchao]

I just saw a short item of this guy (Martin Wheeler) on Thai TV. Short item of him explaining his life, farming, and so on in fluent Lao.. Had Thai subtitles with it.

He does seem very sincere, good spirited and hard working.

A bit of a poster boy for sufficiency economy, which I guess is why it gets the attention now, but that doesn't change that he's leading the lifestyle of his choice, and is being a positive influence on his environment.

I for one am happy that here is a very positive news item about a foreign resident in Thailand. Nice change from Russian gang members being arrested in Pattaya or so and so being deported to the USA for such and such.

Edited December 12, 2007 by chanchao

[GuestHouse]

I for one am happy that here is a very positive news item about a foreign resident in Thailand.

I second that.

And it is precisely why I believe we should not view his 'Heart' as Thai - A foreigner seen as good in his own right

ie Foreign can be good and not everything that is good is Thai.

[chanchao]

Agreed.

I can sort of see where the Thai heart angle is coming from though: How do 75+ or so percent of Thais live: In rural areas, farming, exactly how this Westerner chooses to live. Westerners have the image of the big city life style, consumerism, basically just watch 5 hollywood movies and take the average.. That average will be very distant from the average Thai lifestyle. Now here's a guy who's consciously EMBRACED that lifestyle, he chose to 'go native', become like everyone around him, so "Thai" in the perception of the people around him. Typical case of 'Farang Lao'.

Also, the 'Thai heart' thing just comes from the BKK Post journalist or editor, who needed something that captured him in 2 words.

Edited December 12, 2007 by chanchao

[plachon]

I know about Martin Wheeler from the many Thai people who've mentioned him to me. They always raise him as some kind of hero, an intelligent farang who inherited a fortune in UK, but turned his back on it to live the simple life in the Khon Kaen countryside and practice the King's sufficiency economy theory. They tell me with awe how he can plough a field with a buffalo and grows rice. But the bit they always repeat with pride is that Martin coming here and buying land to farm, which would be unthinkable for anyone but the richest in Britain, somehow proves that Thailand is a great and tolerant country - because even farangs can do it. I politely point out that I doubt very much if Mr Martin is buying the land, although his money may be involved, but this point flys past them, as they are not only convinced that any farang can buy land any time they like, but they are flocking to become Isaan farmers (which in a funny sort of way is true, if one were to glance at the Farming in Thailand thread's popularity).

I finally got to hear Martin speaking directly about 4 months back, on a radio programme and he did speak fairly passable Isaan- Lao accented Thai. He was talking about the importance of looking after the land, by farming sustainably, in tune with nature and planting lots of trees for one's children, so they can build a house in the future without the need for money. He seemed quite content with what he was doing and obviously was deeply passionate about what he was doing and why. But he too gave the impression to the listener that farangs could buy land, without qualifying the facts. Anyone listening would not realise the reality of land purchase in Thailand for foreigners, which I think is quite an important point to make (given the amount of confusion that exists about the law in most Thai people's minds, nevermind farangs).

So, I was quite relieved to see this latest piece on Martin (who now seems to becoming a bit of a celeb) and read that foreigners don't have voting rights or land purchase rights, even after having lived in Thailand for many, many years and the land he had purchased was not his, but his wife's. I bet that bit is not recorded in any Thai language newspapers, if they cover the story.

The other thing which I find slightly odd is his desire for his kids to grow up learning Thai only and not learn English as its "unnecessary for Isaan kids to know this language if they're going to farm the land". That's fine if you know your kid will never want to leave the village and will have a life of contentment watching the rice grow, but should they not want to follow in Dad's footsteps, they mind find it a bit hard trying to get a job or even move past Thai secondary school without a good grasp of English. I think he may be a bit deterministic about his kids future for my liking, although the rest of his life philosophy I generally admire.

Anyway, I agree 100 % with Guesthouse's comments that his heart is not exclusively "Thai" in the sense of his lifestyle or commitment to help the society he has chosen to live in and the headline is misleading, as he is displaying universal human attributes which can be found in people in any one of a host of countries, but having said that, his heart is definitely happiest in Thailand,which I suspect could be said for many people on this board.

[londonthai]

it was said already on the thread that martin sold his property in the uk and run out his money (partying&boozing?) in thailand half way on his way to australia - so it wasn't a furtune and it probably wasn't inherited.

his settling down on the land might have been by chance and not necessarily by his desire - teaching jobs in thailand are not the best payed and wife happened to have some empty land to be worked on.

as to sufficiency economy - it has been for the centuries, cultivated by religious cults all over the world, utopian socialists, hippies, radical environmentalists, primitivists (part of the anarchist milieu). The social change won't come by escapism but by the mass, global political action.

Edited December 13, 2007 by londonthai

[Prakanong]

Yes its his choice and he can choose how to live his life but he is lucky to have that choice and freedom to do so.

Many Isaan folk do not have that equality of opportunity or freedom (mostly economic but some social) to do so.

Self sufficiency is a raceto the bottom - wealth and rising standards of living are created through trade.

Just how far should the economic unit be atomised - country, region or lets go back to neolithic times and stick to family groups only.

The personal choices you make are fine as long as they fall in line with the "Harm principle" but let everyone have the fredom and equal opportunity to make those choices and decide or themselves.

[Martin]

"Self sufficiency is a race to the bottom - wealth and rising standards of living are created through trade."

I doubt if Martin Wheeler is so much of a crank that he practises SELF-sufficiency.

It seems much more likely that he is practising Middle-Path SEMI-sufficiency, as advocated by the King.

There is a world of difference.

The cranks who try to be self-sufficient (colloquially known as 'the knit your own yoghourt brigade') never get very far with it.

They soon enough abandon it and run to the hospital when they injure themselves, for instance.

Martin Wheeler's semi-sufficiency is one of the rural recipes (of which there are many) for semi-sufficiency.

There are many recipes that can be practised in urban areas, too.

I was brought up in a big extended family in which various members had different variations on the theme.

Generally, the urban practitioners tend to have a greater proportion of specialisation and a smaller proportion of sufficiency.

My favourite example is the props man at a Paris Opera House (which is the very-specialised part of his lifestyle) who keeps hives of bees on a seventh-floor balcony and provides his family with their own honey (which is his bit of sufficiency).

(He has a colleague, who is the Opera House fire-prevention man, who raises trout in the firewater tank!)

As 'Prakanong' says, it was the addition of some specialised making of things, and then the trading of them, that increased wealth and living standards (for those lucky enough to have the resources and the abilities required).

But trading is only an addition. It can't be enough in itself.

For the last couple of centuries that progress through the addition of manufacture and trading was accelerated by the successive discoveries of more and more very easily-won 'exosomatics' (stuff from inside the body of the Earth).

Just over thirty years ago, it was realised that those exosomatics were not in infinite supply and it was high time that we started being thrifty and frugal in how we depleted our remaining stores of them.

In 1974, the King made his first speech about the vulnerability to which Thailand was exposing itself by overdoing the specialisation of occupational styles and losing a lot of the sufficiency element.

However, the idea of some 'playing safer' didn't catch on then.

Thaksinonomics had no time for that semi-sufficiency.

Thaksin was the epitome of the specialisation specialists (who, when they are successful, are called tycoons).

The Bangkok middle class who hounded Thaksin out of power, but couldn't get into it themselves, created a situation into which the CNS had to step (quite willingly maybe).

Now, those stores of exosomatics are getting to the stage of being in tight supply (especially with China and India wanting a share of them in order to get some of that 'specialist' element by industrialising before it is too late).

The new Prime Minister committed Thailand to turning to introducing greater elements of sufficiency, but we are yet to see much result and whether more progress will be made this time by successor governments.

It is interesting, though, that the national press picked up on Martin Wheeler, albeit in his holding of a local politico at arm's length, with the lifestyle thing only as a sub-theme.

We will live in interesting times.