THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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The redeeming merit of Prem’s last wish

The redeeming merit of Prem’s last wish

Admirers and critics can at least agree that the late premier ultimately demonstrated compassion where it’s always been needed most

The political climate has become so convulsive that discussion of Prem Tinsulanonda, who died on May 26, is bound to divide public opinion. If there is one consensus-building facet that has emerged about the former premier and long-time president of the Privy Council advising the Palace, it is his dying wish to give away his considerable life savings to people genuinely in need of financial aid. He did not have to do so, and he undeniably warrants the nation’s gratitude for this noble intent. 
Perhaps his wish will do little to change people’s minds about Prem. His supporters have always regarded him as an exemplary patriot and it comes as no surprise to them that his personal fortune might benefit the underprivileged. His critics, though, will not let the display of compassion alter their belief that his ideology in his heyday caused a great deal of harm. In the end, however, we are obliged to recognise the magnanimity of the man’s ultimate wish, one that transcends divisiveness, even as the formation of the next government remains unresolved. 
This elegant desire is alas yet to materialise. General Phitsanu Putthawong, who is in charge of Prem’s benefactor foundation, is seeking legal consultation regarding Prem’s intention to give all salary paid him as prime minister, privy councillor and in other posts to programmes and projects that benefit the poor. It seems clear enough that the foundation must establish sustainable projects to fulfil that wish, but no decision has yet been announced. Our worry is that ill-intended politics could stymie the objective. In spite of divided opinion over Prem’s role in the evolution of modern Thailand, this inconclusiveness could gut what seems to be a genuinely wonderful example of a major political leader wishing to do good. We see far too few public figures demonstrating intent to benefit Thai-land’s citizens most in need, and many of them are far wealthier than was Prem.
We note with due respect that Jatuporn Prompan – the red-shirt leader who is ideologically opposed to the royalist conservatism embodied by Prem – has urged his fellow republicans to admire the late statesman for what he accomplished as premier and to set aside for now the fundamentals of their disagreement. “We are all Buddhists,” he said, and that means keeping an open mind. He gave Prem credit for bringing to an end the communist insurrection of the 1970s and ’80s and allowing our fledgling democracy to sprout leaves when he accepted Chatichai Choonhavan’s election as the first civilian prime minister in many wayward years.
Red shirts maintained, with just cause, that Prem’s influence on politics persisted long after the advent of Chatichai. In 2006, following the coup that felled Thaksin Shinawatra, a small bomb exploded outside Prem’s residence. A year later a mob tried to tear down his gates. Thaksin had claimed that “someone living outside the Constitution” was conspiring against him. 
Jatuporn’s appeal for a more conciliatory assessment of Prem is all about politics, the intimation being that Prem was taking orders from elsewhere. None of this diminishes the genuineness of Prem’s wish to help the poor. In no way can that be seen as politics, or as an offshoot of vested interests. It’s a shame such an ambition is the exception rather than the rule. We would love to see more such overt philanthropy. Prem is to be credited for several key advances in modern Thailand, but we feel most deeply moved by this intent just revealed. 

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