The moral origin of Thailand's provincial strongman: The case of Banharn Silpa-archa

South East Asia Research

Volumn 13, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 184-234

  Nishizaki, Yoshinori ^a  

^a NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE   (Singapore)

Author keywords

Banharn; Domination; Historical origin; State; Strongman; Suphanburi

Indexed keywords

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; RURAL POLITICS; STATE-LOCAL RELATIONS;

ASIA; EASTERN HEMISPHERE; EURASIA; SOUTHEAST ASIA; THAILAND; WORLD;

EID: 24044512144     PISSN: 0967828X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5367/0000000054604489     Document Type: Review

References (271)

1. See, for example, Anderson, B. (1990), 'Murder and progress in modern Siam', New Left Review, Vol 181, pp 33-48;
2. Arghiros, D. (1995), Political Structures and Strategies: A Study of Electoral Politics in Central Rural Thailand, University of Hull Centre for South-East Asian Studies, Occasional Paper No 31, Hull;
3. Arghiros, D. (2001), Democracy, Development, and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand, Curzon, Richmond;
4. McVey, R., ed (2000), Money and Power in Provincial Thailand, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu;
5. Nelson, M. (1998), Central Authority and Local Administration in Thailand, White Lotus, Bangkok;
6. Ockey, J. (1992), 'Business leaders, gangsters, and the middle class: social groups and civilian rule in Thailand', PhD dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY;
7. Ockey, J. (1993), 'Chaopho: capital accumulation and social welfare in Thailand', Crossroads, Vol 8, No 1, pp 48-77;
8. and Pasuk Phongpaichit and Sungsidh Piriyarangsan (1996), Corruption and Democracy in Thailand, Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai. Some of these works, eg Ockey's, do spotlight the benevolent and paternal aspects of local strongmen, but ultimately, the fundamental basis or origin of their rule is depicted as immoral.
9. The same problem also afflicts the literature on local Filipino politics. See Ileto, R. (1999), Knowing America's Colony: A Hundred Years from the Philippine War, University of Hawaii, Center for Philippine Studies, Honolulu, Chapter 3.
10. For a similar critique written from a non-post-structuralist perspective, see Kerkvliet, B. (1995), 'Toward a more comprehensive analysis of Philippine politics: beyond the patron-client, factional framework', Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol 26, No 2, pp 401-419.
11. My fieldwork, conducted twice over the 1999-2002 period, has lent additional support to the official election result. I asked a total of 171 Suphanburians of all ages and social classes to rate the strength of their support for Banharn on a scale of 1-5. They gave him an average of 4.1 points; 79 respondents gave five points. I do not mean to imply, however, that every Suphanburian likes Banham; it is simply impossible for any politician to please everyone. Nineteen of my respondents actually gave him less than three points. I therefore quite readily admit that he has his share of detractors. The presence of these people, however, does not diminish the fact that a sizeable majority of Suphanburians do like and support him.
12. Nation Sutsabda [Nation Weekly], 7-13 July 1995, p 10. While no detailed scholarly work on Banharn exists, this kind of negative description of him keeps appearing in the scholars' and journalists' general accounts of local Thai politics.
13. Cf Robertson, P. S. Jr (1996), 'The rise of the rural network politician: will Thailand's new elite endure?' Asian Survey, Vol 36, No 9, pp 924-925.
14. Interview, 30 January 2000. This respondent continued: 'Banharn doesn't actually have to use money. We fully support him regardless of whether we are given money or how much we are given.'
15. For further details on the limits of gun, goon and gold, see Yoshinori Nishizaki (2004), 'The weapon of the strong: identity, community, and domination in provincial Thailand', PhD dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Chapter 1.
16. To the extent that the existing literature brings in the state, the state is depicted as a relentless or abusive 'intruder' (eg tax collector), from which local strongmen protect vulnerable villagers.
17. For the history of Suphanburi, see Waruni Osatharom (2004), Muang Suphan bon sen thang kan plian plaeng thang prawatisat: phuthasatawat thi 8 - ton phuthasatawat thi 25 [The City of Suphanburi on the Path of Historical Change: 8th Buddhist c. - early 25th Buddhist c.], Thammasat University Press, Bangkok;
18. Ministry of Interior (1985), Prawat mahat thai suan phumi phak jangwat Suphanburi [Regional History of Thailand: Suphanburi], Bangkok.
19. Suphanburi Sarn, 25 December 1987, p 6. This provincial newspaper (in print between 1985 and 1989) was edited by a locally prominent historian, Manas Ophakul. As an aside, Manas is the father of Ad Carabao, a nationally famous and popular Thai singer of the so-called 'songs for life', songs that critically address many social and political problems in Thailand, such as farmers' poverty, corruption and military rule.
20. Migdal, J. (1994), 'The state in society: an approach to struggles for domination', in Migdal, J., Kohli, A., and Shue, V., eds, State Power and Social Forces: Domination and Transformation in the Third World, Cambridge University Press, New York.
21. Calculated from National Economic and Social Development Board - hereafter NESDB (1979), Phalitaphan phak lae changwat 2521 [Gross Regional and Provincial Product 1978], Bangkok.
22. Calculated from Wilai Wongserbchart, et al (1993), Prachakon khong prathet thai: satiti nai chuang 25 pii (2511-2535) [The Population of Thailand: Statistics in the 25-Year Period (1968-1992)], Chulalongkorn University Institute of Population Studies, Bangkok, pp 11-15.
23. Khon Suphan (hereafter KS), 30 October 1963, p 5. Khon Suphan [Suphanburians] is the oldest provincial newspaper, having been published since 1957.
24. Calculated from KS, 20 October 1963, p 5;
25. and National Statistical Office - hereafter NSO (1972), Statistical Yearbook Thailand 1970-1971, No 29, Bangkok, p 42.
26. Calculated from Uraiwan Kanungsukkasern (1983), Comparative Population and Health Statistics for Thailand: Regional and Provincial Levels, Mahidol University Institute for Population and Social Research, Bangkok.
27. Calculated from Budget Bureau - hereafter BB (1962), Ekasarn ngop pramarn: ngop pramarn prachampii ngop pramarn 2506 [Budget Document: Budget of Fiscal Year 1963], Vol 3, No 3, pp 485-527, 541-572. In what follows, this document is cited as Ekasarn ngop pramarn, followed by a Thai/Buddhist fiscal year (= Western calendar year + 543).
28. BB (1961), Ekasarn ngop pramarn 2505, Vol 3, No 3, pp 425-456, 467-504.
29. Calculated from NSO, supra note 15, at pp 115, 118-120.
30. See the map in NESDB (1967), The National Economic and Social Development Plan 1967-1971, Bangkok, page number unspecified.
31. NESDB (1966), Performance Evaluation of Development in Thailand for 1965 Under National Economic Development Plan 1961-1966, NESDB, Bangkok, p 42.
32. Department of Highways - hereafter DOH (1986), Rai-ngan prachampii 2528 [Annual Report 1985], Bangkok, p 79.
33. KS, 18 January 1966, p 1;
34. BB (1969), Ekasarn ngop pramarn 2513, No 3, p 50;
35. BB (1970), Ekasarn ngop pramarn 2514, Vol 3, No 4, p 387;
36. BB (1971), Ekasarn ngop pramarn 2515, Vol 3, No 4, p 382;
37. DOH (1977), Rai-ngan prachampii 2519 [Annual Report 1976], Bangkok, p 116.
38. Weber, E. (1976), Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, p 208.
39. For a superb analysis of road density as a proxy for the state's ability to extend its authority over distance, see Herbst, J. (2000), States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Control, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, pp 84-87, 161-163.
40. KS, 25 February 1962, p 1;
41. KS, 28 February 1962, p 1;
42. KS, 25 March 1962, pp, 1, 8;
43. KS, 30 March 1962, p 1;
44. KS, 24 January 1967, p 1;
45. KS, 20 October 1967, pp 1, 8;
46. and KS, 19 February 1968, p 1;
47. Wilson, D. (1963), 'Thailand: old leaders and new directions', Asian Survey, Vol 3, No 2, p 83;
48. Weatherbee, D. (1970), The United Front in Thailand: A Documentary Analysis, University of South Carolina Institute of International Studies, Columbia, SC, p 24.
49. David Morell and Chai-anan Samudavanija (1981), Political Conflict in Thailand: Reform, Reaction, Revolution, Oelgeschlager, Cambridge, MA, p 83;
50. Weatherbee, supra note 26, at p 5.
51. Suphanburi Sarn, 25 December 1987, p 12.
52. KS, 1 August 1993, p 3;
53. Manas Ophakul (nd), Prawat luang phor tor wat jampa [The History of the Buddha at Jampa Temple], p 28;
54. Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker (1995), Thailand: Economy and Politics, Oxford University Press, New York, pp 218-219;
55. Tej Bunnag (1977), The Provincial Administration of Siam, 1892-1915, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, p 102.
56. KS, 1 December 2002, p 4.
57. Association of Suphanburians (1996), Hoksip pii samakhom chao Suphanburi [Sixty Years of the Association of Suphanburians], p 123;
58. Chart Thai Samphan (2001), Vol 13, p 5.
59. Suphanburi Sarn, 25 December 1987, pp 6, 12.
60. In a booklet issued in 1995, Manas similarly says: '70-80 years ago...civil servants did not want to be transferred to Suphanburi', Manas, supra note 29, at pp 27-28.
61. KS, 23 March 1965, pp 1, 16.
62. KS, 10 September 1974, p 3.
63. For a fuller discussion of how Suphanburians discursively constructed and imagined 'the central state' - a distant, abstract, amorphous and invisible Goliath based in Bangkok - on the basis of what they heard, saw and were made to do in their daily lives and interactions with rank-and-file local-level agents of the state, see Nishizaki, supra note 7, Chapter 3.
64. My perspective here has been profoundly influenced by three noted social scientists who argue that what local people conceive of as 'the state' consists essentially of images created and reinforced by social practices. See Mitchell, T. (1991), Colonising Egypt, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA;
65. Migdal, J. (2001), State in Society: Studying How States and Societies Transform and Constitute One Another, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 15-23;
66. and Gupta, A. (1995), 'Blurred boundaries: the discourse of corruption, the culture of politics, and the imagined state', American Ethnologist, Vol 22, No 2, pp 375-402.
67. Sarn khwam fan hoksip pii phana than Banharn Silpa-archa [Carrying on with the Sixty-Year Dream of His Excellency Banharn Silpa-archa] (1992), Dear Book, pp 18-20. This booklet was issued by Banharn's children to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. While some of its eulogies need to be taken with a pinch of salt, the booklet gives more detailed information about his childhood than any other source available.
68. Interviews with Sino-Thai residents in Larn Luang Road, various dates in May 2004; Khomduean Choetcharatfa (1995), Cheewa prawat lae thasana Banharn Silpa-archa, nayok ratamontrii khon thi 21 khong thai [The Life and Viewpoint of Banharn Silpa-archa, Thailand's 21st Prime Minister], Soi Thong, Bangkok, pp 50-51. NB Larn Luang Road is a fairly short road (less than two kilometres) inhabited mostly by Sino-Thai merchants.
69. Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce (hereafter DBD/ MC), Bangkok Company File No 3893. Saha Srichai was also located on Larn Luang Road.
70. Prachachart Thurakij (nd), Pert tua 'khun khlang' 15 phak kan muang thai [Disclosing 'Finance Ministers' of 15 Thai Political Parties], Bangkok, p 6;
71. Krungthep Thurakij Sutsabda, 29 February-6 March 1992, p 12;
72. Naew Na, 20-26 May 1994,
73. quoted in Khomduean, supra note 37, at p 62;
74. Sarthit Winurat (1996), Ke roi nak kan muang [Tracing the Footsteps of Politicians], Wisurut, Bangkok, p 76.
75. For further details on Banharn's family and business background, see Nishizaki, supra note 7, Chapter 4.
76. Nathee Thong, now bankrupt (since 1990), specialized in importing construction materials from abroad, while the still existing B.S. International produces chemicals. DBD/MC, Bangkok Limited Partnership File No 527/05, and Bangkok Company File No 330/2513.
77. Located in the market town of Muang district, this hospital (founded in 1926) is named after its founder, Chaophraya Yommarat - real name: Pan Sukhum (1862-1938), a Suphanburi-born Minister of Interior in the period of absolute monarchy.
78. Suphanburi's population increased by 32% from 448,694 in 1957 to 590,196 in 1967. Uraiwan, supra note 16.
79. NESDB (1964), The National Economic Development Plan, 1961-1966: Second Phase, 1964-1966, Bangkok, p 131.
80. BB (1964), Ekasarn ngop pramarn 2508, Vol 3, No 3, pp 1043-1187.
81. BB, (1965), Ekasarn ngop pramarn 2509, Vol 3, No 3, p 1235.
82. For example, Saraburi, Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi, Lopburi and Nonthaburi received baht1,003,000, baht810,000, baht560,000, baht760,000 and baht520,000 respectively. BB, supra note 45, at pp 1229-1234.
83. KS, 25 January 1966, pp 1, 15;
84. KS, 10 November 1968, p 3.
85. The second largest donor contributed a mere baht100,000. KS, 25 January 1966, pp 1, 15;
86. KS, 15 February 1966, p 15.
87. Interview, 18 September 1999. The importance of everyday small talk cannot be underestimated. Market towns in provincial Thailand are small in size and population. People therefore know each other well and exchange all sorts of stories regularly.
88. Interview, 18 September 1999.
89. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 63.
90. As elsewhere in provincial Thailand, there is no TV station in Suphanburi that specializes in reporting local news.
91. KS, 30 January 1969, pp 1, 3.
92. Geertz, C. (1980), Negara: The Theater State in Nineteenth-Century Bali, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, p 13.
93. KS, 30 January 1969, p 3 (emphasis added).
94. KS, 30 January 1969, pp 1, 3.
95. KS, 30 January 1969, p 3. As discussed below, he fulfilled this promise.
96. A second B-J Ward, a two-storey ferroconcrete ward with 16 rooms, was built in 1977 with his donation of baht1.5 million. In 1997, Banharn donated baht21 million to build a third B-J Ward, a three-storey ward with 24 rooms. KS, 16 March 1977, pp 1, 2;
97. KS, 16 April 1977, p 1;
98. KS, 1 May 1977, pp 1, 8;
99. KS, 16 March 1997, p 1;
100. CY Hospital, Thiraluek phithi perd tuek khan khai phiset Banharn-Jaemsai Silpa-archa 3 [Commemorating the Opening Ceremony for Banharn-Jaemsai Patients' Ward 3].
101. For Banharn's other contributions to CY Hospital, see Nishizaki, supra note 7, Chapter 8.
102. The circumstances under which this controversy occurred need some further elaboration. On 16 February 1962, Sarit visited Suphanburi to attend an opening ceremony for the newly built Provincial Court (KS, 20 February 1962, pp 1, 8).
103. During this ceremony, then Governor Phat, wishing to impress Sarit, displayed the Sangkhalok Bowl (which he had borrowed from Suwannaphum Temple) on a table. Phat also boasted of the bowl's incalculable historical value to Sarit. Less than a month after this ceremony, Sarit's military subordinate (who was a Suphanburian) came to Suwannaphum Temple with a water jar and made an astonishing request: 'The bowl is so beautiful that I want to give it to my superior (in exchange for the jar)'. The abbot agreed, knowing how powerful Sarit was and fearing the consequences of refusing the request. Phat admitted later that his silly boasting was to blame for the ensuing mess. See Phat's recollection in Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at pp 46, 48.
104. KS, 5 September 1962, pp 1, 8;
105. KS, 20 September 1962, pp 1, 8;
106. KS, 7 September 1965, p 1;
107. KS, 11 April 1967, p 4.
108. KS, 30 March 1969, p 3.
109. KS, 30 March 1969, p 3.
110. KS, 21 March 1967, p 4.
111. KS, 21 March 1967, p 4;
112. KS, 30 October 1968.
113. KS, 20 November 1969, pp 1, 12.
114. KS, 20 April 1969, p 3.
115. KS, 20 May 1969, p 3.
116. KS, 20 November 1969, pp 1, 12.
117. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 50;
118. Suphan Post, 16 November 2001.
119. Banharn actually recalls paying baht80,000 for the bowl. In any event, the money paid was chicken feed for him. Shortly after the auction, he bought a European car for baht300,000 and 48,000 square metres of land in Bangkok. KS, 10 December 1969, p 3;
120. KS, 30 December 1969, p 3.
121. KS, 20 November 1969, pp 1, 12;
122. KS, 30 November 1969, pp 1, 12;
123. KS, 10 December 1969, pp 1, 3.
124. More than three decades after the return of the Sangkhalok Bowl, Suphan Post, a new provincial paper (in print since 1999), carried a series of editorials to recount how it had happened and what Banharn did. Suphan Post, 1 and 16 October, and 16 November 2001, p 5.
125. KS, 20 August 1968, p 1;
126. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 51.
127. Constructed in 1954, 72% of this highway was initially made of clay. In the following year, the whole road was surfaced with laterite. It was only in 1970-72 that the road was surfaced with asphalt. DOH (1955), Rai-ngan prachampii 2497 [Annual Report 1954], pp 18, 36;
128. DOH (1956), Rai-ngan prachampii 2498 [Annual Report 1955], pp 13, 27;
129. BB (1970), supra note 23, at p 387;
130. BB (1971), supra note 23, at p 382.
131. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at pp 50-51.
132. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 56.
133. A year later, Banharn donated an additional baht500,000. KS, 10 April 1970, p 1.
134. B-J School 1 (1995), Phithi morp thun kan sueksa munnithi Banharn-Jaemsai prachampii 2538 [Ceremony for Handing Out Banharn-Jaemsai Foundation Scholarships 1995], p 7.
135. KS, 10 April 1969;
136. KS, 20 April 1969, p 3;
137. KS, 10 April 1970, pp 1, 12;
138. KS, 30 April 1970, pp 1, 3, 12.
139. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 52.
140. B-J School 1, supra note 76, at pp. ii, ix.
141. B-J School 4 (1995), Ekasarn naenam rongrian nai phithi morp thun kan sueksa munnithi Banharn-Jaemsai [Guide to School on the Occasion of Banharn-Jaemsai Foundation Scholarship Awarding Ceremony], p 9;
142. KS, 10 March 1975, pp 1, 2.
143. For a similar episode regarding the construction of B-J School 2 in Bang Pla Ma district, see KS, 10 May 1970, p 1.
144. KS, 10 April 1973, pp 1, 12.
145. KS, 10 April 1973, pp 3, 12;
146. KS, 20 April 1973, p 3.
147. In 1969, the construction of a laterite road linking Dan Chang directly to another district (U-Thong) began. It was only in 1974 that the project was completed. KS, 20 July 1969, p 1;
148. KS, 30 March 1974, p 1.
149. A local temple abbot therefore recalls that Dan Chang was 'really remote and wild' (thura kandarn). Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 49.
150. As of 1974, Dan Chang, 1,194 square kilometres in area, had a population of 11,531. Thus, there were only nine persons per square kilometre. Frederick Day and Boonlert Leoprapai (1977), Patterns of Health Utilization in Upcountry Thailand, Mahidol University Institute of Population and Social Research, Bangkok, p 104.
151. KS, 30 April 1973, p 12.
152. KS, 30 April 1973, p 12.
153. A teacher at one primary school in Suphanburi, where wooden and concrete buildings stand next to each other, says that most students assigned to study in the wooden building are jealous of their friends in the concrete building because the latter building is 'cleaner, more beautiful, and more modern'. Interview, 11 April 2000.
154. It may be recalled that CPT had successfully infiltrated Suphanburi by 1969. The Village Scout movement was a fervently nationalist movement aimed at countering communism. The King had sponsored and actively supported this movement since 1972. For a detailed account, see Bowie, K. (1997), Rituals of National Loyalty: An Anthropology of the State and the Village Scout Movement in Thailand, Columbia University Press, New York.
155. KS, 20 July 1975. Of the 24 provinces in the central region, Suphanburi had the fourth largest number of Village Scout initiates (n = 65,011) in the 1971-85 period. Banharn's ceremony provided an occasion on which many of these initiates were incorporated into the nationwide ideological movement.
156. Bowie, supra note 88, at pp 290-297.
157. KS, 16 October 1976, p 1.
158. See also KS, 10 April 1968, p 1,
159. and KS, 20 April 1968, p 1.
160. If, as Thak says, Field Marshal Sarit's traditional family and educational backgrounds made him a pro-monarchist, the same can be said of Banharn. Just like Sarit, he had never been exposed to Western culture and education. See Thak Chaloemtiarana (1979), Thailand: The Politics of Despotic Paternalism, Social Science Association of Thailand, Bangkok.
161. KS, 10 and 20 July, 1975.
162. KS, 20 July 1975.
163. Withayusarn prachamwan (Daily Radio News), 17 July 1975.
164. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 57.
165. Provincial Statistical Office of Suphanburi (1997), Samut rai-ngan sathiti jangwat: Suphanburi 2539 [Statistical Report of Provinces: Suphanburi 1996], p 51.
166. Interview, 15 December 1999.
167. I thank Charles Keyes for urging me to think in this direction.
168. KS, 28 February 1970, pp 1, 12.
169. KS, 20 November 1971, p 3. This joint donation demonstrates Banharn's cordial links with the Public Works Department, mentioned earlier.
170. KS, 10 May 1971, p 1.
171. KS, 20 May 1970, pp 1, 12. A monthop is a square structure that has four arches and a pyramidal roof.
172. KS, 20 June 1971, p 2;
173. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at pp 45-46.
174. Banharn had entered the monkhood at this temple in 1954. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 28.
175. He also donated baht5,000 worth of chairs. KS, 10 November 1971, p 3.
176. Information obtained at Suan Taeng City Shrine.
177. These ceremonies were held on 2 May 1971, 30 June 1972, 25 February 1973, 2 November 1975 and 4 March 1976. KS, 10 May 1970, p 1;
178. KS, 10 November 1975, p 3;
179. KS, 10 March 1976, p 1;
180. KS, 10 July 1972, p 3;
181. KS, 20 February 1973, p 3. See Table 3.
182. KS, 10 November 1975, pp 1, 3. As described below, Banharn and Boontheng knew each other by this time, both having been appointed to the interim Legislative Assembly in December 1973.
183. Hirsch, P. (1989), 'The state in the village: interpreting rural development in Thailand', Development and Change, Vol 20, No 1, p 51.
184. See also Ratana Boonmathya (1997), 'Contested concepts of development in rural northeastern Thailand', PhD dissertation, University of Washington, pp 238-240, for villagers' standpoint on the relationship between religion and development.
185. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 47.
186. Kasian Techapira (2001), Commodifying Marxism: The Formation of Modern Thai Radical Culture, 1927-1958, Kyoto University Press, Kyoto, p 190.
187. KS, 10 May 1975, p 3 and 30 August 1975, p 3.
188. Like Boontheng, Chusa-nga was a member of the interim Legislative Assembly (see below).
189. Indeed, just one month after this ceremony, Chusa-nga engineered the appointment of his brother-in-law, Anek Sitthiprasarn, a former civil servant in Suphanburi, as Deputy LAD Director-General.
190. KS, 30 August 1975, p 2.
191. KS, 10 July 1969, p 1.
192. KS, 20 June 1973, pp 1, 12.
193. B-J School 1, supra note 76. From 1984 onwards, Banharn annually awarded a growing number of B-J scholarships at B-J School 1; as of 1995, the number of recipients totalled 830.
194. KS, 30 November 1974, p 3;
195. KS, 30 December 1974;
196. KS, 10 October 1975, p 10;
197. Thin Thai, 15 September 1975. (Thin Thai was another provincial newspaper, published intermittently between 1975 and 1992).
198. For an account of communist insurgency in Phetchabun, see General Saiyud Kerdphol (1986), The Struggle for Thailand: Counter-Insurgency 1965-1985, S. Research Center, Bangkok, pp 45, 54, 63, 118.
199. In 1967, the Thai Army had started an 'indiscriminate use of bombs and napalm' in suppressing communist insurgency in northern Thailand. In the same year, the fighting spread to Phetchabun. Saiyud, supra note 119, at pp 116, 180.
200. Unless otherwise noted, the information given here is based on KS, 20 November 1970, p 1, and my interview with the schoolmaster of Pratheep School, 10 February 2002.
201. In a study published in 1958, a noted anthropologist suggested the importance of paternalism as an ingredient of moral authority in provincial Thailand. One peasant explained his support for then Prime Minister Phibun by saying: 'He has been very good and kind to us. He is like our father and we are like his children'. Phillips, H. (1958), 'The election ritual in a Thai village', Journal of Social Issues, Vol 14, No 4, p 39.
202. Barme, S. (1993), Luang Wichit Wathakan and the Creation of a Thai Identity, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, p 122.
203. KS, 10 July 1975, p 1.
204. Praonrat Buranamart (1985), Luang Wichit Wathakan kap bot lakhon prawatisart [Luang Wichit Wathakan and Historical Plays], Thammasat University Press, Bangkok, pp 100-101.
205. Barme, supra note 123, at p 123.
206. KS, 30 July 1975, pp 1, 2;
207. KS, 10 August 1975, pp 1, 8.
208. KS, 10 August 1975, p 1. Admiral Sa-ngat was later to lead the successful coups of 1976 and 1977.
209. KS, 30 July 1975, pp 1, 2;
210. KS, 10 August 1975, pp 1, 8.
211. KS, 10 August 1975, p 8.
212. KS, 30 July 1975, p 2;
213. KS, 10 August 1975, p 8;
214. KS, 16 October 1977, p 1.
215. KS, 1 October 1967, pp 1, 8.
216. They jointly managed the Cathay Trust Group, one of Thailand's largest economic conglomerates linked to the now-defunct Bangkok Metropolitan Bank. See Arunee Sopitpongstorn (1991), Kiarti Srifuengfung: The Boy from Suphanburi, Sri Yarnie Corporation, Bangkok;
217. and Akira Suehiro (1989), Capital Accumulation in Thailand, 1855-1985, Center for East Asian Culture Studies, Tokyo, pp 160-163, 223, 229, 247, 298-299.
218. Few Suphanburians therefore have heard of either Kiat or Phaiboon. Those who have do not know that both were born in Suphanburi.
219. Gupta, supra note 35.
220. KS, 30 April 1970, p 3;
221. KS, 10 April 1973, p 12;
222. KS, 30 April 1973, p 3.
223. KS, 30 April 1973, p 3.
224. KS, 10 April 1973, p 12.
225. KS, 10 May 1973, p 2.
226. KS, 20 March 1970, p 3.
227. KS, 30 April 1972, p 3.
228. Interview, 15 September 1999.
229. Interview, 3 February 2000.
230. Interview, 15 December 1999.
231. Interview, 21 December 1999.
232. CY Hospital (1998), Nangsue thiraluek phithi perd tuek khon khai phiset 'Banharn-Jaemsai Silpa-archa 3' [Booklet for commemorating the opening ceremony for a special patients' ward 'Banharn-Jaemsai Silpa-archa 3'], p 46.
233. Wedeen, L. (1999), Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp 25, 153.
234. My argument here has been heavily influenced by three classic works that argued that legitimate political authority (among other notions) consists of endless images or impressions created by the way politicians present themselves in public: Goffman, E. (1959), The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Anchor Books, New York;
235. Edelman, M. (1976), The Symbolic Uses of Politics, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL;
236. and Edelman, M. (1988), Constructing the Political Spectacle, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. Whether such images or impressions reflect 'objective reality' is an issue that positivists would pursue.
237. Sawat's term as Suphanburi's governor (1966-75) coincided, to a remarkable degree, with the very decade in which Banharn made a spate of spectacular donations described thus far. To be exact, Sawat's term started in January 1966, the month in which Banharn made his first major donation (to CY Hospital). Sawat therefore had a chance to see most of Banharn's donations at first hand. Sawat also attended many ceremonies held to honour Banharn's donations.
238. KS, 30 December 1972;
239. Thai Rath, 28 December 1972, p 7.
240. KS, 20 January 1975, p 3.
241. Membership in the National Assembly enabled Banharn to 'get to know many people in the bureaucracy and the private sector'. Naew Na, 20-26 May 1994,
242. quoted in Khomduean, supra note 37, at p 64,
243. and Akharaphon et al (1995), Senthang suu nayok ratamontrii khong tueng siao harn Banharn Silpa-archa [Banharn Silpa-archa's Road to Premiership], Nam Fon, Bangkok, pp 30-31.
244. While his previous personal connections had been limited, Banharn now got a chance to expand them to include a dazzling array of high-ranking civil servants, prominent capitalists and senior politicians from all over Thailand. Three of these people, all mentioned earlier, were: Admiral Sa-ngat, Suphanburi-born Navy Commander-in-Chief; LAD Director-General Chusa-nga; and Interior Minister Boontheng. These people were all members of the Legislative Assembly. Banharn's association with these (and many other) national-level celebrities in the post-1973 period was a function of his political position in the central state. For a list of Legislative Assembly members, see Bangkok Post, 21 December 1973.
245. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 83;
246. Siam Rath, Aphinanthanakan [Compliments], 28 May 1990, pp 74-75.
247. KS, 30 October 1974, p 3.
248. Chart Thai Samphan, supra note 31, at p 5.
249. Bun-uea, a doctor by profession, had been elected to parliament in 1957, 1959 and 1975.
250. Bangkok Post, 21 February 1975, p 1.
251. See also Bangkok Post, 11 February 1975, p 3;
252. Bangkok Post, 15 February 1975, p 3;
253. and Bangkok Post, 19 February 1975, p 5, for accounts of Anant's diatribes against other politicians. One of those politicians, Thavich Klinpratoon, then leader of the Social Justice Party and MP of Ratchaburi, filed a libel suit against Anant.
254. Anant Sanokhan (1988), Thammai phom tong than Banharn [Why I Must Resist Banharn], Klet Thai, Bangkok.
255. Banharn had a good reason to support these candidates. One of them was Somchai Sujit, whose family member, Wicha, was a major shareholder in Saha Srichai Construction. DBD/MC BangkokCompany FileNo 3893. Somchai is also the elder brother of Yodchai Sujit, who performed Blood of Suphan along with Banharn. Somchai later became Banharn's vote canvasser (see below). Also, Jaranai's uncle was the aforementioned Winit, Banharn's former classmate and a doctor at CY Hospital. See her obituary in Anuson nai ngan phra racha than phlerng sop nai phaet Winit Sribunma [Cremation volume for Dr Winit Sribunma] (1999), p 15.
256. Indeed, after having served as municipality mayor for 10 years (1975-85), Manas lost the election of 1985 to Jaranai.
257. KS, 10 March 1976, p 3.
258. KS, 20 March 1975, pp 1, 8.
259. KS, 20 March 1976, p 1.
260. KS, 20 March 1976, p 2.
261. KS, 10 April 1976, p 2.
262. No record exists of the total number of votes cast in Banharn's constituency. My estimate is therefore based on the following pieces of information: (1) the voter turnout in Suphanburi as a whole was 47.35% (KS, 10 April 1976, p 2),
263. and (2) as of January 1975, Banharn's constituency had 193,729 eligible voters (KS, 30 January 1975, p 2). Assuming that the number of eligible voters did not change substantially in just 15 months, and that there was little variation in voter turnout from constituency to constituency, I estimate that some 91,731 of eligible voters in Banharn's constituency (= 193,729 × 47.35%) cast votes in the 1976 election. His share of votes was therefore about 63% (= 57,530/91,731).
264. On the other hand, none of my critics could prove conclusively that he did.
265. Information obtained from local residents including kinship members of Harn and Somchai. Harn, now deceased, was the owner of Harn Phanit Kha Mai Limited Partnership, a timber-selling construction company established in 1971 (DBD/MC Suphanburi Limited Partnership File No 65). He and Banharn had jointly donated money to renovate the Suan Taeng City Shrine in 1971 (information obtained at the Suan Taeng City Shrine). Somchai, for his part, is the provincial agent for Hino, Honda and Ford. Incidentally, 'sia' is a Chinese word for an influential tycoon.
266. It might also be noted that in the recent Muang municipality election of February 2004, Somchai's younger brother Yodchai (the main actor in Blood of Suphan) ran for office, but was defeated. If Somchai acted as Yodchai's vote canvasser (there is every reason to believe so), this loss too suggests his limited capacity to deliver votes.
267. Interview, 7 December 1999.
268. Sarn khwam fan, supra note 36, at p 85;
269. Siam Rath, supra note 153, at p 74.
270. KS, 20 February 1976, p 3.
271. Interview, 14 December 1999.