Collected by Nopporn Suwanpanich
[To see the catalog of the newspaper collection with an introduction “A Eulogy for My 2010 Memories” by Chertalay Suwanpanich, click here]To what do people turn when they can’t rely on the system? In this Part 2 of selections from century-old Thai newspapers, we offer three answers: to sacred beings more potent than absolute rule, to the press that hides behind foreigners, and to a life of crime.
I
“Newsprint is thin and flimsy: it can’t but tear when rubbed—how can it ever fight the corrupt and dishonest? Seeing that they put cotton balls in their ears, cover their faces with cowhide or a mask, and are so immovable as to become pillars of stone. What’s more, they were favored by God to be born into this position, so how can we hope for God’s punishment?”
from Kammakorn, Year 1 Volume 6, Saturday, 14 March BE 2465 (pdf)
under the heading “Letter from the Countryside,” pages 122-123
Tha Ruea Subdistrict
The 16th of March, Buddhist Era 2465[1922]
Greetings to you, honorable Editor of Kammakorn:
If it doesn’t go against your protocol, could you please publish my letter in your paper? I will be deeply grateful. I have come across in various newspapers, and then in yours as well, Kammakorn, when it was conceived, the incessant cries of “Let us, together, bring down the corrupt bureaucrats.” But I find that to be pointless, as newsprint is thin and flimsy: it can’t but tear when rubbed—how can it ever fight the corrupt and dishonest? Seeing that they put cotton balls in their ears, cover their faces with cowhide or a mask, and are so immovable as to become pillars of stone. What’s more, they were favored by God to be born into this position, so how can we hope for God’s punishment?
For this reason, I ruminated on who we can resort to, who will bestow their powers for subduing or stamping out the corrupt. Then it occurred to me:
We should beseech and pray to the Five Gods, that they heed our call and wipe out the corrupt ill-wishers to the Thai nation. I think It’s a fine idea, because there is strength in numbers, so maybe one of the gods’ powers are sufficiently sacred to rapidly topple the corrupt, or to redirect those with the inclination for corruption back on the path of virtue and justice once they see the supervillains fall.
Regards,
Mr. Countryman
With this letter by Mr. Countryman, we don’t necessarily hold the same views. The reader should judge for themselves what objective Mr. Countryman has in mind, what the Five Gods refer to, how potent they are, in what manner they can stamp out the corrupt bureaucrats. Answer however you like.
Editor K.
II
“One house gecko’s tsk-tsk should already give you pause, as elders say. But in this case it’s a person, an entire party of people, and sometimes multiple parties of people who express disapproval, but not once has the government agreed to stop. Why is that? Because they don’t believe in the honor of such a person or such a newspaper? Not at all. Rather, it’s because the government views that the press doesn’t have enough influence. Who cares what they carp and cry about, who cares how much they shout?”
“The press mainly consists of true-Thai nationals; that some papers have to hide behind foreigners is due to their lack of confidence in the government’s fairness. But in the final analysis, you will probably see that their words of reproach and occasional sarcasm are all expressed with good intentions for the nation. … Don’t be so deranged as to imagine that fellow Thais would think ill and change the system of government or seek to destroy the advancements of the government the way other nations have done. China, being a neighbor of ours, is the most visible case in point, but the Chinese did so because there were issues necessitating it, as many among us already know in our hearts.”
from Bangkok Kanmueang, Year 1 Volume 19, Monday, 5 March BE 2465 (pdf)
under the subject “The Government and the Press (Continued),” pages 303-305 (incomplete)
Once before, we explicated the objectives of the press and of the government. In Volume 3, on Monday the 30th of October of this year, we said, in summary, that both parties have a shared objective in making Siam thrive, rather than a competition for dominance. If the latter is held to be the case, then the predominant party will use its power as a claim to rule, and never will the press dare to voice dissent as the latter party (in our country of Siam) consists of ordinary citizens. But they’re somewhat more capable than their fellow citizens in terms of knowledgeability and capital for publishing, so they asked around like-minded people to found a newspaper, hoping it to be an eye opener, an ear opener, and a voice for fellow citizens who suffer unfairness. Please keep in mind that the citizens who bathe in sweat in place of water do so in order to 1) make a living for themselves and their families, 2) find the resources to support and maintain the nation.
The monthly salary/allowance that His Excellencies and HRHs and Reverends etc. spend in hotels, buy automobiles, and run them into and over citizens on the streets nowadays, is the fruit of the citizenry’s sweat bathing. For this reason, His Majesty the King, the head of the nation, has merficully handpicked the brilliant among royalty and the intelligent among commoners to the posts of officials responsible for attending to the people and alleviating their suffering and their worries about other things, so that they can just worry about bathing in sweat to help find the resources to support the nation. These officials from various departments are collectively called the government.
The citizens and the government are existentially interdependent, bound to each other by duty. A high-ranking government official who is kind and aware of the people’s joys and sorrows will be loved and praised by the general public. But what can a citizen do if they regularly encounter corrupt officials bent on oppressing the populace and taking citizens’ money as well as royal funds? Take the matter to court? Draft a petition to the king? You’re encouraged to dig deeper: What kind of matter [will likely go through these channels]? What kind of people will have the courage to draft a petition to the king or take it to court? That is why the majority of citizens concur that out of all the mechanisms for getting rid of corrupt officials, for pleading and reproaching the government, for bringing flourishment to the country, none is more convenient nor fares better than the newspapers. Just in our country of Siam, the citizens have relied wholly on the newspapers to be their voice in negotiation with the government, comparable to a lowly congress of the people. If the government acts in fairness and helps elevate the status of the newspapers further, the benefits will naturally fall on the government in terms of increased convenience in attending to and taking care of people’s suffering. It’s like teaching something to 100 people from the countryside will probably not yield as good of a result as teaching it to one intelligent and knowledgeable person among those 100 from the countryside and tasking the intelligent one with teaching their own.
True, not everyone is a good person; it’s a mixed bag of good and bad. So it is with the press. This the government should be well aware, and should decide which comments in which newspapers have the substance to merit further consideration, since the Royal Treasury Ministry did approve a portion of its budget for newspaper subscriptions for all the ministries and departments to read on the regular basis. The aim was to monitor the news and the opinion in those papers for ways to improve their work, not to just read and throw away or pretend not to hear the press’s opinion. Ponder the following: the press mainly consists of true-Thai nationals; that some papers have to hide behind foreigners is due to their lack of confidence in the government’s fairness. But in the final analysis, you will probably see that their words of reproach and occasional sarcasm are all expressed with good intentions for the nation. The Thai nation is pure-blooded, and hasn’t been mixed for generations now. Don’t be so deranged as to imagine that fellow Thais would think ill and change the system of government or seek to destroy the advancements of the government the way other nations have done. China, being a neighbor of ours, is the most visible case in point, but the Chinese did so because there were issues necessitating it, as many among us already know in our hearts.
One house gecko’s tsk-tsk should already give you pause, as elders say. But in this case it’s a person, an entire party of people, and sometimes multiple parties of people who express disapproval, but not once has the government agreed to stop. Why is that? Because they don’t believe in the honor of such a person or such a newspaper? Not at all. Rather, it’s because the government views that the press doesn’t have enough influence. Who cares what they carp and cry about, who cares how much they shout? Who’s going to listen to them? I’ll do as I please. I’ll pretend not to hear, and soon the issue fades away like waves crashing on a beach. And if a newspaper makes too much noise, defying the time and place, then an indirect or clandestine method will be employed to shut it down. This method can be counteracted a bit if one is a foreigner or a subject of a foreign country; by complaining to one’s consul, one won’t be let off the hook entirely, but the severity will be reduced. But if one is [end of page 305]
III
“For a country where prison overpopulation is still the case, the number of its prisoners is the measure of its governance.”
“A person who hasn’t lost hope of finding success, or hasn’t quit striving for virtue and renown, do have faith that they will be teachable, compliant, and law-abiding. If they have lost such hopes, then understand that they will do whatever it takes.”
from Kammakorn, Year 2 Volume 45, Saturday, 5 January BE 2466 (pdf)
under the heading “Sundry Remarks,” pages 716-718
A cow, a water buffalo, an elephant, a horse, a camel, or a donkey withstands whatever use and abuse we put it through; it carries any burden, however heavy. Even though it feels the full weight, it makes no sound of complaint. When it can no longer bear it, it collapses in exhaustion.
A person, even if they live under a rock and know no civilization, does not tolerate such treatment. This is because they can speak. Even if they cannot formally complain to an authority, they can’t but complain to their group or in their mind. And when the oppression becomes too much to bear, they can’t but struggle and agitate for a while. Therefore, the powerful and the blessed should refrain from viewing people as nothing more than beasts of burden.
For a country where prison overpopulation is still the case, the number of its prisoners is the measure of its governance.
The country of America, according to reports, has seen an atypical drop in its number of prisoners as a result of the government’s prohibition of the sales of liquor. This shows that many issues among Americans stemmed from alcohol consumption.
Our country of Siam still has a high number of prisoners. The government should try ruminating on why this is the case. Try banning liquor for once, and see if the result will be as good as America’s.
Many civil servants and citizens, it can be observed, love consuming alcohol. Also numerous, innumerable really, are those harmed by alcohol consumption. As for what dangers stem from alcohol consumption and from the alcohol itself, the details of which have been put on exhibit for health at Wat Prathum Khongkha, we believe that the general public has already let that sink in; there is no need for us to describe its virtues.
A person who hasn’t lost hope of finding success, or hasn’t quit striving for virtue and renown, do have faith that they will be teachable, compliant, and law-abiding. If they have lost such hopes, then understand that they will do whatever it takes. Once they get to the point of imprisonment, be reminded that very few will mend their ways. Observe it yourself: someone who has been sentenced to prison tends to have frequent run-ins with the law.
This is precisely because such a person has lost the hope for good. As a result the courts add more punishment for the unrepentant, exile included. Still, it hasn’t been effective, seeing that those prisoners exiled to the provinces end up spreading evil there, or teaching their skills to provincial people.
The courts have the duty of judging and punishing wrongdoers. For the most part, however, in their judgments the courts tend to exercise discretion to avoid sending wrongdoers to prison by taking into consideration the wrongdoers’ behavior and standing. As a result, there have been cases where the same crime is given unequal punishment by the courts, as the courts consider that putting people in prison amounts to producing shameless people, or further turning upstanding people into wicked people. When they are imprisoned, they will lose the hope for good.
People are unequal in their behavior, standing, and knowledge. Therefore, when those with high rank or with a record of good behavior and no prior criminal history are charged with or convicted of a crime, they will typically be given a lighter punishment by the courts, including suspension of punishment.
Read the next part:
This series is part of the project Dissident Dreams, sponsored by Democracy Discourse Series, De La Salle University, the Philippines