A Leopard Can Change Its Spots: Thai Opinion

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A leopard can change its spots

Tulsathit Taptim

Thirayuth Boonmee has been there and done that.

BANGKOK: -- Whether or not you trust his latest analysis of the Thai political crisis, at least consider the fact that the man has been around. Over the past four decades, Thirayuth has been a pro-democracy leader, an armed "freedom fighter" who lived in the jungle (communist, in other words), a pro-Thaksin academic, an anti-Thaksin academic, someone who could not stand the status quo, and someone who is, apparently, resigned about the status quo.

Like Chamlong Srimuang and Sondhi Limthongkul, Thirayuth was once a cheerleader for Thaksin Shinawatra. Unlike the top guys in the People's Alliance for Democracy, though, Thirayuth has been trapped by his past role as leader of a "liberal force" in the 70s, meaning he cannot go all-out against the movement supporting Thaksin - the red shirts.

Sunday's press conference, Thirayuth's first in a few years, partly reflects his own dilemma. But even his attempt at neutrality could not hide the interesting ideological evolution of a man who now cannot give a growing popular movement his full sanction. We are witnessing the expanding power of the grassroots, he acknowledged, but Thaksin is anything but its worthy leader.

From a neutral's point of view, Thirayuth's analysis is as honest and accurate as it can be. That is probably why no one on either side of the conflict is happy about what he said. He attacked the "conservatives" for being narrow-minded, for failing to implement development or progress that could allow the less fortunate to tag along. He implied that the current conflict was a "war for resources" after one half of the country had been reaping lopsided gains for a long time.

Then there was the bombshell against Thaksin. Thirayuth called him a shrewd marketing man who knew how to make the Thai masses buy his products. Most stinging was his conclusion that most of the trouble we are in has a lot to do with someone trying to get off the hook for business deceptions and tax evasion. He stopped short of labelling Thaksin a tell-tale piece of evidence in this national disparity, where the poor's best hope is to wait for spoils and the rich can obscenely multiply their wealth simply by making public their dreams.

Thirayuth didn't have to go that far to irk Thaksin supporters. Usually ones who disdain wealthy people, now they are asking what is wrong or criminal about a businessman becoming so rich. A Thaksin aide has called Thirayuth extremely biased and unprofessional, while the academic's admirers-turned-sceptics are wondering out loud whether their former idol has "changed".

Thirayuth has changed. There is no doubt about that. We consider it a big irony when a leader of the 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin has embraced the parliamentary system and become a key figure for "national reconciliation", but Thirayuth's transformation is no less intriguing. In fact, the two men's reversed paths have combined to give us great food for thought.

As General Sonthi Boonyaratglin goes down the road to "reconciliation", a process that could undo all legal consequences of his military clampdown on Thaksin, Thirayuth has emerged to virtually oppose any move to whitewash the man in exile. Sonthi's about-face and Thirayuth's re-emergence could be a big coincidence, but they arguably make for the most fascinating part of this episode in our political crisis.

Thirayuth sees no glimmer of hope where reconciliation is concerned, at least in the near future. Again, that is extraordinary pessimism from a man who used to believe that the voice of the majority was the final answer to every problem. A Thirayuth of 1970s would have proclaimed: "The people have spoken, and they must be unconditionally listened to."

It seems that, to Thirayuth, Thailand's biggest problem is mutual hatred that threatens to run so deep that nobody can turn it around. Each is refusing to acknowledge the existence of the other, he said. The younger, revolutionary Thirayuth would have cherished a volatile ideological confrontation, but his Sunday press conference was anything but a celebration of catalysts for change.

It is said that a lot of student activists who emerged from the jungle under a nationwide amnesty were not the "same ones" who entered it after the 1976 Thammasat bloodbath. Life can outgrow ideology or, to defend the likes of Thirayuth, add perspective to it. The man is being bombarded left and right, mostly by those who never spent a day in a communist camp or lived under really repressive regimes.

Somehow, the charge that someone has changed has come to be seen as a negative development. Men of Thirayuth's experience must have expected what was to come before giving that press conference. After all, idealism and realism in Thai politics are like oil and water. We can't tell Thirayuth not to try to mix them. I mean, who are we to tell him?

-- The Nation 2012-03-21

[Thaddeus]

Nah, sorry, a leopard can't change its spots, but it can change its prey.

[jerrysteve]

The is a solid reason for the saying, "A leopard can't change its spots."

[ableguy]

This guy makes sense when talking about Thaksin