More irreverence for the South

On the surface, any scheme to foster adherence to the noble tenets of Buddhism is a fine idea. The teachings of the Lord Buddha offer life-affirming guidance through the challenges and tribulations of daily life, even for people outside the religion that was founded in his name.

But a plan to establish a 100-rai Buddhism-themed park in the predominantly Muslim South is a frankly terrible idea.

The government was watching warily, at first unwilling to intervene, as provincial officials and monks in Pattani pushed ahead with their ambition to build a park site of vast lawns overseen by a large statue of the Buddha surrounded by stupas. Locals officials at lower levels have been noticeably silent about the project, possibly fearful of antagonising the Buddhist faithful there and across the country.

The rationale has not been explained, but perhaps the proponents are thinking in terms of tourism as well as bolstering the faith. Such goals in themselves are acceptable, but these officials have surely not fully taken into consideration the precarious state of affairs in the conflict-stricken southernmost provinces. 

Certainly there are ample Buddhist temples in the region, but the practicality of this endeavour is utterly undermined by social and political realities. Public sentiment in the Malay-speaking region was evidently not being taken into consideration. Yet how could that be so in the 12th year of a separatist insurgency that has so far claimed more than 6,500 mostly Malay Muslim lives? No end to the bloodshed is in sight, despite countless peace initiatives.

The fact that Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country and that Buddhism has always been part of our state and national ceremonies offers no excuse for this affront to Islam.

Reacting to the plan with caution, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had said the project could not be allowed to cause more problems in the South, given that the government has enough problems there already. There was mild irony in the premier’s reserve, given that the government has been sharply criticised over perceived corruption in the development of another expensive show-park in the South, the Army’s royalist Rajabhakti Park outside Hua Hin. 

The government yesterday ordered a review of the Pattani park plan along with a process of public consultation. Provincial authorities must now take care that this process doesn’t result in Muslims being cast as heartless or unpatriotic for not supporting the scheme. Concern will be acute nevertheless that a project of this scale could be intended to alter the region’s status as an Islam-predominant area.

The proponents might have good intentions, but good intentions do not necessarily equate to good policy. We are reminded of the paper-crane fiasco of 2006. Someone in the Thaksin Shinawatra administration felt it would be a wonderful gesture of goodwill by Thais elsewhere in the country to shower the South with millions of origami birds dropped from military planes.

Islamic scholars had warned against the notion, pointing out that the Quran speaks of God sending down “birds in flocks” to flatten his enemies like blades of grass. In the event, few Muslim citizens objected, perhaps not wanting the government to view them as troublemakers.

Thailand should not be trying to expand its “Buddhist space”, but rather looking for ways to incorporate the Patani Malays’ cultural space into its social fabric. It was excluding them in the first place, after all, that primarily sparked the current conflict.