It was quite an extraordinary reunion of old colleagues. They were mostly retired senior commerce officials and included former minister Krirkkrai Jirapaet, former deputy minister Oranuj Osathanont and former permanent secretaries Karun Kittistaporn and Charae Jutharattanakul.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban lifts his fist in a victorious mood as a group of highranking officials from the Commerce Ministry cheer on at the Pathumwan rally venue on Saturday night. WISIT THAMNGERN
Also there were former director-general of the Export Promotion Department Chantra Buranaruek, former director-general of the Business Economics Department Boontipa Simaskul and former director-generals of the Commercial Registration Department Orajit Singkalvanich, Pathra Sakulthai and Adul Vinaipaet.
The get-together on Saturday night was not for the purpose of a social chit-chat among retirees to recall the good old days in the Commerce Ministry. Rather, it was to send a message to the government and to officials at the ministry.
The venue of their get-together was not held at a luxury five-star hotel in Bangkok, but at the Pathumwan protest site of the People's Democratic Reform Committee.
The retired senior commerce officials as well as several still in service, who did not identify themselves, took to the protest stage on Saturday night with Suthep Thaugsuban, leader of the People's Democratic Reform Commitee (PDRC). A donation of 340,000 baht was handed over to Mr Suthep by Mrs Oranuj who said the money was raised hastily among the group of 17 retirees from their pensions.
A joint statement issued by the group read out by Mr Suthep said they supported reform before an election and wanted to see the Commerce Ministry reformed as a top priority.
Mr Suthep also asked them whether they were afraid they could face charges for supporting the PDRC's insurrection.
The public appearance of these retired senior commerce officials and some active officials on the protest stage is significant, unique and should be an inspiration for officials not just at the Commerce Ministry but other ministries as well about the political stand they should take.
One female official blew a whistle when asked by a moderator how she felt about caretaker Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikuar.
Regrettably though, this significant event was not covered by any mainstream newspapers or the free television stations. I don't understand why.
The night before, former director-general of the Irrigation Department Pramote Maiklad and deputy permanent secretary for agriculture and agricultural cooperation Lersak Liewtrakulpaibul led about 100 irrigation officials to the protest stage at Pathumwan to declare their support for reform before an election.
But medical staff who call themselves the Public Health Community went a step further by demanding the ouster of the government. They also joined a PDRC protest march in Bangkok on Jan 20.
Public health permanent secretary Narong Sahamethapat became the first high-ranking official to openly to defy the government and join the protest cause.
Although the majority of government officials have not come out openly to rebel against the government, many of them have quietly supported the protest movement as clearly evident in the way they blew whistles when protesters marched through their offices or the way they cooperated without resistance when told by protesters to leave their offices.
The show of open defiance against the government by retired and active officials and the failure of the government to take punitive action against them is a clear sign the government losing its authority to govern. In other words, a sign of a crumbling government.
Just consider the emergency decree and its related edicts such as the ban on public gatherings of five or more people and declaring certain areas off-limits.
The protest sites at Pathumwan, Ratchaprasong, Lat Phrao and Asok are still crowded with protesters, especially on Friday and Sunday nights. Ask any of them whether they are afraid of the law or threats of jail terms, and they simply laugh it off as a joke.
The decree is a joke like its predecessor, the Internal Security Act, which was imposed at the start of the protests back in November. Both Capo and Chalerm Yubamrung's Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order are mere paper tigers.
The disruption of advance voting yesterday in Bangkok and elsewhere across the country by the protesters _ with the police just standing idly by _ is another sign of a lame duck government. And this is just a prelude of what can be expected on election day on Feb 2 if the government persists with the election which will be even more messy.
But before Feb 2, the government will have to deal with dissenting farmers who have started blockading roads in several upcountry provinces. Many of them have threatened to join the Bangkok protests.
The government again missed Saturday's deadline to pay the farmers. The next deadline is Friday, which is likely to be missed again because the government is broke and cannot enter into a new loan because it is just a caretaker administration.
The farmers are fed up with one-sided information from the government, including about the rice pledging scheme.
But when they are in Bangkok and have the chance to hear what the protest leaders tell them about the fake government-to-government rice deals and all the cheats in the rice scheme, you can imagine how they will react.
Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Bangkok Post.