[Tlc] Fwd: Bkk Post piece

[Michael Montesano]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pavin Chachavalpongpun <pavin at iseas.edu.sg>
Date: Apr 6, 2009 9:56 AM
Subject: Bkk Post piece
To: Michael Montesano <michael.montesano at gmail.com>

 The name of the party game is 'names'

Dr PAVIN CHACHAVALPONGPUN

Bangkok Post

6 April 2009

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) recently announced its plan to set
up a new political party under the name Thien Hang Tham, or Candles for
Righteousness. The PAD hoped that this would offer Thais a new alternative
in politics, using Dhamma to lead the political way on a righteous path.

In the other corner, fugitive academic Giles Ungpakorn has been talking
about the possibility of red-shirt members forming their own political
party. The grassroots red-shirt group has already developed and is now
moving into a republican movement, according to Giles. The possible name of
a new political party could involve a wide range of politically correct
notions, such as pro-democracy, freedom-loving or anti-dictatorship.

What's in all these names? How is the politics of rhetoric employed to
legitimise courses of action by politicians?

Why do the Lao leaders pretentiously call their country "Lao People's
Democratic Republic" when in fact it is run by a communist party? Does the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea really exist? And since when has North
Korea become a democratic state?

In Thailand, the politics of rhetoric is an artificial business. The name of
a political party, in particular, is even more plastic. It is used to
construct a false legitimacy for politicians. It is a part of creating an
illusion of a perfect Thailand rising above flawless party politics and
their genuinely democratic and moral agendas.

Trends in the past two decades show that the names of Thailand's political
parties have evolved around notions pertaining to the Thai national
identity, especially the nation and religion. This is because naming a
political party based on these symbols is self-legitimising. It also
connotes a sense of nationalism that could be used to appeal to a wider
audience for their support.

But since the lifespan of most Thai political parties is short, simply
because they lack an identifiable ideology, and membership and alliance is
forged on money and allocation of power, not loyalty and passion, new
political parties have frequently emerged in the public consciousness.
Naming a new political party can be both a lucrative and creative business.

Politicians make use of the name of the political party to represent and sum
up their existence and meaning in politics. But is there substance in it? A
greater number and more colourful names of political parties do not signify
the vibrancy of democracy. In fact, the mushrooming of political parties and
their inventive names serves the wrong purpose. They confuse people. They
also compel people to rely on individuals, a more recognisable entity than
the ever-changing political parties, when it comes to balloting.

The culture of manufacturing a catchy name for a political party is
epidemic. It works in the same way as business advertising. But even in the
business world, the name of a product can sometimes hardly warrant its
quality. In many cases, it even proves the opposite: bad products come in
nice packages.

In the realm of politics, the most captivating names of political parties
can guarantee a disaster. Numerous examples verify this observation. Khwam
Wang Mai (New Aspiration party) formed by Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh did not
really give Thailand a new hope. It was in fact one of the causes behind the
outbreak of the financial crisis in 1997 because of his government's
financial mismanagement. Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai party might have
been hugely successful. But did the name really spread the message of love?
Or did it end up spawning division?

In the last few years since Thailand has sunk into this deep turmoil, its
political landscape has increasingly become a strange terrain. Revenge and
continued polarisation have made political parties more vulnerable than
ever. The courts have been criticised for being politicised. During this
time, Thailand has witnessed the rise and fall of many political parties.
But of course, politicians are salient enough to switch factions and change
alliances for their own survival.

New political parties have emerged. Some of the new parties' names are more
sensational, more nationalistic, and even more polarised. From Thai Rak
Thai, Palang Prachachon (People Power party), to Puea Thai (For Thais), all
these connote Thaksin's people-centric political platform. The focus has
been on the people, not the Bangkok elite. And by focusing on the masses,
Thaksin and his political followers believe it also signals support for
democracy.

Bhumjaithai party (Proud Thai), Puea Pandin (For the Motherland), and Pracha
Raj (Royalist People's party) also exemplify the redundant use of
nationalistic language which has so far shown no sign of contribution to the
development of the Thai political system. They were born out of political
convenience which, again, only reaffirms the mentality of the Thai
politicians behind the invention of new political parties.

Now that the two forceful political entities, the yellow- and red-shirt
movements, are scheming to register their birth on the mainstream political
scene, some people have high hopes that this could eventually transform
Thailand into a two-party state: one that represents the royalists and the
other the masses. But their past and present political activities have
worried some Thais too. Will the beautiful name of their planned political
parties really help cloak their true political agendas?

For the PAD, it is not really an alliance of the people, nor an organisation
that promotes democracy. Obviously, it is designed to protect the interest
of the elite. Moreover, its idea of "new politics" is really a democratic
setback. So will Thien Hang Tham shine on the privileged and dim the light
for the poor?

For the red-shirt party, their crusade again dictatorship is impressive. But
was Thaksin once a despot too? Only recently has he been pompously redressed
in a democratic uniform?

Naming political parties is ultimately a story of cover-up. It covers up the
irrationality, artificiality and accidental birth of the parties. Call it
whatever they like, but Thai politicians cannot deny the fact many of them
are a bunch of power-hungry individuals who perceive politics as purely a
domain of business.

   - *Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a Visiting Research Fellow at the
   Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.*



Pavin Chachavalpongpun, PhD.
Visiting Research Fellow
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace
Pasir Panjang
Singapore 119614
Tel: +65 68704522
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ucr.edu/pipermail/tlc/attachments/20090406/ef6de59e/attachment.html