Learning to understand what democracy really means

The recently concluded gathering of well-known international figures and leaders at the government’s reconciliation forum didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. Nevertheless, it was refreshing and encouraging to hear various ideas being tossed about, because it reminds us of the great challenges ahead, and that there is hope for a peaceful outcome to Thailand’s predicament. 

The speakers talked about the notion of a shared destiny, something that is currently hard to see for people on either side of the political colour-coded divide.

But if we work hard enough and dig deeper into our hearts and souls, and put aside for a moment our selfish political and personal interests, we can imagine a shared destiny for the people of this country. The same goes for the Patani Malays in the southern border provinces. 

Indeed, the red-yellow political chasm is not the only issue confronting Thailand. For a decade, Thailand’s three southernmost provinces have suffered a bloody insurgency that has claimed more than 5,000 lives, and the end is nowhere in sight. 

A number of speakers and participants touched on the southern insurgency but, unfortunately, few in the Thai media and society accredit the conflict much importance. Part of the reason could be that the insurgency – in spite of the human and financial cost – is deemed “too far from home”, while our divisive politics is usually close to our front door.

There is also the matter of Thais being extremely nationalistic. Any challenge to the state-constructed historical narrative will not be tolerated. This explains why the state and society at large are indifferent to the historical grievances and mistrust of the government among the Patani Malays in the deep South. Because of our indifference, the only thing that registers in our minds is the belief that they want to separate from Thailand. 

Speakers at the event came with a wealth of experience in dealing with ethnic violence in other countries. While the local context might be different, the guiding principle for peace is more or less the same. There has to be a sense of shared destiny, a sense of fairness, and an end to the zero-sum-game mentality. 

But, judging from the conduct of our elected representatives, they have yet to let go of the idea of “winner takes all” democracy. 

Democracy should be about more than who gets the most votes. And the public needs to be reminded that democracy is not a free ride. This means we as voters must hold accountable the people we elected to office. We shouldn’t meet them only once every four years or so. 

Democracy is about the institutions and check-and-balance mechanisms that took a beating when Thaksin Shinawatra came to power just over a decade ago. With his sister now in power, one can effectively say that Thailand is back where it was at the time Thaksin came into office. Yingluck Shinawatra’s problem seems to be delivering on promises she made to her supporters. 

But her brother abroad has yet to let go of the remote control. He is accused by some of being selfish. But can we blame him?

The real blame should be on all of us, because we as a society have yet to let go outdated mindsets. And as long as we cannot overcome our political differences, there will always be someone out there to exploit the situation.