‘Yellow dust’ bids farewell to beloved King
A few years ago, the “yellow dust” gathered at the Royal Plaza and beyond to show loyalty to one of the world’s greatest monarchs. Last Saturday, the yellow dust wore black and tearfully sang their hearts out at Sanam Luang and surrounding areas. It was the loudest, most emotional Royal Anthem ever sung, and the solemn, historic gathering said a lot about Thailand in the 21st century.
There were side issues – organisational hiccups, “witch-hunt” allegations and lamentable commercialisation of the event – but they could never blur the big picture, which was so stunningly clear from the sky. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej remains so well-loved – at a time when certain omnipresent ideologies are scrutinising such love, when rich and superpower countries either completely discard the concept of monarchy or keep royal families as absolute figureheads, and when the “dust” themselves have more access to information “from the other side” than ever before.
We are witnessing one of the greatest shows of faith, love and thankfulness the world has ever seen. Elsewhere, the sacred aura of kingship has faded with time. In Thailand, it was holy, then challenged, and finally rebuilt against all the odds. Many of the tearful “singers” on Saturday thought of themselves as “modern”, yet they nevertheless considered His Majesty to be divine. Ironically, perhaps, the ambivalence has to do largely with the fact that the dust are more familiar with his jacket, camera and map than with his ancient monarchical robes.
Saturday’s tributes were for that camera-aiming, map-carrying monarch, who trekked more tough terrain than any politician and who initiated countless projects for his people without any hidden agenda. The message of the Royal Plaza convergence was “Thank you, we truly appreciate it, and please stay with us forever”, while the Sanam Luang gathering was a heartfelt “Goodbye and thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.”
All through his long reign, in showing such unconditional reverence, appreciation and strong love, the dust were often frowned upon by some. The critics took serious issue with prostrating or standing up at cinemas while pretty much ignoring the fact that everyone in this Kingdom can fly as high as he or she wants. Not that the dust care, though. They understand democracy, and probably all too well. They never wanted His Majesty to be tainted by politics, but they couldn’t help making comparisons, especially when it came to sincerity, sacrifice and integrity.
The dust are not blind, and their opinions of him have been formed through the 70 years of his reign, not through two or three clips of Royal activities. They know that while some criticism is sincere, it’s somewhat difficult to tell others that no law has played a part in how they feel toward His Majesty. It’s his deeds, not the laws.
Thailand in the 21st century worships King Bhumibol, the dust have been defiantly telling the modern world. Whether it’s an old-fashioned, unquestioning love or it’s the kind of love created by long-time appreciation and careful consideration may be a subject for debate by outsiders, but the dust have their answer, underlined so emphatically on Saturday.
A video clip featuring a high-ranking Thai official defending Thai laws protecting His Majesty is going viral. A couple of months ago, the official would have looked belligerent and rude toward reporters, but watching it now offers some fresh perspectives. “We have what others don’t,” the man said. “So it’s up to us, not to them, how we keep and cherish what we have.”
The monarch was absolutely one of a kind, a King who worked with pencils, rulers, maps, charts and pointers. Throughout his long reign, military decisions were made by somebody else, and he was never responsible for taxes that favoured the rich, obscene telecom fees, drug problems that threatened Thai communities, dark powers of local mafia or the dismal state of Thai education. The kingship was not rebuilt with swords, but with attempts to bring rain to dry land, to prevent and fight floods, and to replace drug cultivation with dignified ways of life.
The dust can be forgiven for looking at him and forgetting all about the relevance of any political system. Though knowing that he’s above politics, they can be forgiven for, say, looking at him and then at Donald Trump and then back at him, and wondering who would be a better world leader.
If integrity and sacrifice are what really count where the dust are concerned, maybe Thailand in the 21st century has some great lessons to offer the world. Shrill advocates of democracy worldwide should take account of what has been transpiring in Thailand. In their deep appreciation of what His Majesty has done for the country, the dust have reinforced a school of thought which declares that systems need good people, not the other way round.