Continue What Surayud Tried To Do In The Thai South

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EDITORIAL

Continue what Surayud tried to do in the South

By The Nation

This administration, unlike the previous interim government, has failed to recognise the real views and needs of people in the strife-torn South

Last week Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit and Privy Council member General Surayud Chulanont welcomed the first graduating class of nearly 3,000 nurses from the deep South. The graduates took part in an oath-taking ceremony, swearing to abide by the code of ethics for people in the medical profession. Their faces were bright, smiling and full of hope.

The idea of training the 3,000 nurses came during the interim Surayud administration. Shortage of medical personnel was one of the reasons cited. Many medical professionals have opted to relocate to better places than the southernmost provinces, where more than 4,600 people have been killed in insurgent violence since January 2004.

Jurin went on at length to explain how things are going to change. All 2,848 of the new graduates will enter a government bureaucratic system and thus a form of guaranteed job security, said Jurin, to a big round of applause. Medical services will be spread throughout rural areas in the South and children's IQs will improve. According to a study in 2009, Thai children's IQ was 91 on average. The international standard is between 91-110. It's a long way to climb but not far from the range of normalcy. He talked about turning village health centres into full-fledged hospitals as a way to lessen the burden on medical hubs and regional hospitals in the three provincial capitals. Moreover, temples and mosques will also be encouraged to take up the role of village medical centres. Decentralising medical services is a good idea but it must not come at the expense of quality.

The idea of training nurses was the brainchild of the military-appointed administration, and it did a lot to help bridge the trust gap between Malays of the deep South and the rest of the country. From apologising for past atrocities committed against Muslims in the deep South to incorporating Islamic religious teachers into the public school system, Surayud understood the need to give local people a sense of ownership so they can feel they have a stake in this country. He was man enough to seek help from the international community. Diplomats from neighbouring countries and members of international organisations continue to praise his effort and initiative and can't understand why the current administration has backtracked on the foundation he laid down.

One thing few people like to talk about - although it is a clear and obvious problem - is the issue of social mobility for the Malay Muslims of the deep South. It has consistently been argued that one way to end this century-old conflict and move on as a nation is to give the Malays a real stake in this country. This means much more than electing local representatives to Parliament. The recent past has shown that locally elected representatives there, as in the rest of the country, compromise themselves for personal and political gain.

The moment of truth came when nearly 100 young Malay Muslim men suffocated to death in the back of military trucks in 2004 - the Tak Bai massacre. No government politician would dare utter a word for fear that their political master, Thaksin Shinawatra, would slap them down. So at the next general election, the people voted them out.

When one speaks about having a stake in the political system, it should not only be about how many seats Malay Muslims get in Parliament. It should also be about what Suraud tried to do during his short stint as the country's premier. Besides training a new generation of nurses, we should look at other professions as well. Have we ever asked how many doctors, lawyers, engineers, architectures or bureaucrats are from the Malay Muslim communities in the deep South?

If anything, the presence of tens of thousands of security troops in the region reinforces the long-standing perception that it is an occupied territory and that the southern people are colonial subjects. This equation and perception has to change and can only change if we empower the local people, not just by talking about autonomy but about justice and equality. Structural reform is the language of political and social elites. It doesn't guarantee anything except that the head will change from that of a Thai Buddhist to a Malay Muslim, who can be just as corrupt and selfish. Real people with real needs talk about justice and equality. The rest are just empty words.

-- The Nation 2011-04-02

[asiawatcher]

All well and good - but tell the Malays to integrate into Thai society or return to their ancestors home land. There is no room in Thailand for inciteful bigots or teachers who wish to each destruction and harm.

[Oberkommando]

All well and good - but tell the Malays to integrate into Thai society or return to their ancestors home land. There is no room in Thailand for inciteful bigots or teachers who wish to each destruction and harm.

Those Malay provinces weren't part of Thailand until 1909 and are Malay homeland and have been for centuries. The Thais have been trying to annex them for 200+ years.

Isaan Thais were resettled there by the Government in the 1960's.

Perhaps, as the Anand panel conducted under the Thaksin administration suggested, more sensitivity towards Islam and the local culture is needed, including recognition of their languages and traditions, instead of the current situation of occupation.

[Pi Sek]

All well and good - but tell the Malays to integrate into Thai society or return to their ancestors home land. There is no room in Thailand for inciteful bigots or teachers who wish to each destruction and harm.

Those Malay provinces weren't part of Thailand until 1909 and are Malay homeland and have been for centuries. The Thais have been trying to annex them for 200+ years.

Isaan Thais were resettled there by the Government in the 1960's.

Perhaps, as the Anand panel conducted under the Thaksin administration suggested, more sensitivity towards Islam and the local culture is needed, including recognition of their languages and traditions, instead of the current situation of occupation.

Hey - I'm getting tired of agreeing with you when our political views are so opposed. This must be the 3rd time this week.

What you are suggesting is, of course, exactly what the OP is suggesting and the exactly what everyone else with a disposition geared away from hatred has been suggesting for ages.

The only thing you're wrong on is "those Malay provinces" - well, the sultanate of Pattani I suppose means that Malaysia was Pattanese (?) rather than the other way around, especially since Malaysia didn't exist at the time, but in essence I can't disagree with what you've posted.

The sultanate of Pattani was "colonised" by the Siamese - twice, after it was briefly liberated by the Burmese - and therefore Pattani has a case to say it's not part of Thailand. I'd argue however that it has as much a case as Scotland has to say it's not part of U.K. (there is a Scottish National Party who include this in their campaigns).