PM’s favourite TV show a backward vision of Thailand
The soap opera “Buppasannivas” is in the news. I am not a fan of Thai soaps but just to be fair I decided to struggle through a few episodes of the series.
Not to my surprise, the content has no substance but does offer a few laughs. Despite this, while Premier Xi Jinping preaches to Chinese people “Do not expect the fruits to fall from the trees, if you want to eat the fruit, roll-up your sleeves and start planting it”, our great prime minister praises “Buppasannivas” and urges all Thais to copy its traditional culture.
It is all right to believe in our “Thainess”, but our PM seems to forget the world is now making a technology leap and education is the key. Thailand lacks this key, and no serious step has been made to improve education. We seem to forget that Siam lost its independence to the Burmese not just once but twice. No one questions why.
I just wish that Prayut, instead of one-sided preaching to Thais to be proud of “Thainess”, would also question why we are still where we are despite decades of peace, when neighbouring countries such as China and Vietnam are leaping forward even after suffering the ravages of the Cultural Revolution and Vietnam War respectively. I think the real reason rests on a populace who blind themselves with smiles and “wais” and are content with waiting for handouts in exchange for unquestioned “cultural obedience” to the “authority” and a good laugh from soap operas – very sad indeed.
The Insider
