Let's hear the alternative ideas

Dr Sumet Jumsai believes that the King is sacred and must remain sacred. Moreover, Dr Sumet would prefer that believing in the sanctity of the monarch should “remain at the core of Thai culture”. I can understand perfectly well why Dr Sumet would prescribe such a course of action. When you believe in something strongly and feel that it is a force of good, you would want others to believe it too. Where I think Dr Sumet went off the rails was when he accused a small group of Thammasat University lecturers of not knowing enough history. The lecturers were proposing ideas about the monarchy that Dr Sumet found objectionable. He then recommended that the entire student body as well as the entire faculty of Thammasat University should adopt history as a “compulsory subject”. Is this in keeping with the spirit of “vive la difference” that Dr Sumet mentioned in the article? I do not think so.

Kemadist Chiaracharuwat

Bangkok