Man who returned whistle to Suthep speaks out

Man who returned whistle to Suthep speaks out

‘Mai’ tells reporters why he returned his whistle to former street protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban when the latter visited Prachin Buri on Monday. (Photo by Manit Sanubboon)
‘Mai’ tells reporters why he returned his whistle to former street protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban when the latter visited Prachin Buri on Monday. (Photo by Manit Sanubboon)

PRACHIN BURI: A whistle that was once blown during the protests against Yingluck Shinawatra has lost its charm for a man who joined the rallies led by Suthep Thaugsuban.

“I felt disappointed (with Mr Suthep), so I decided to give my whistle back to him,” said the man, who encountered Mr Suthep when the latter staged a campaign-style walkabout for his Action Coalition for Thailand Party (ACT) in Muang district of this central province on Monday.

Video clip from ธีชเดช ซื่อสัตย์ Facebook account shows Mai returning his whistle to Suthep Thaugsuban on Monday in Prachin Buri.


The man, who spoke on the condition that he be referred to only as Mai and his identity must be obscured, said on Friday that he wanted to send Mr Suthep a message that political division should end. The country should move forward to democracy and overcome political conflicts, he added.

Mai joined the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) spearheaded by Mr Suthep at a rally site at the Government Complex during the Bangkok protests that sought to unseat former prime minister Ms Yingluck and her Pheu Thai Party in late 2013.

He said the “colour-coded politics”, including the whistle campaigns, should be left to history. “I am living an ordinary life and will not take part in anything as I used to do in the past,” he added.

The PDRC rallies continued through an aborted election in early 2014, finally ending when then army chief Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a military coup in May 2014. The whistles became a symbol of the movement led by Mr Suthep, a former Democrat Party heavyweight who vowed afterward that he would not get involved in politics again.

While he has no formal position at ACT, most people believe Mr Suthep is the real power behind the party, which is expected to support any move to keep Gen Prayut on as prime minister after elections.

“Mai” said that the response to his gesture had been mixed.

“I felt bad after receiving both negative and positive reactions,” he said after pictures of his moment with Mr Suthep were posted on social media and later picked up by the mainstream press.

“Mr Suthep told me to keep it as a souvenir but I said I didn’t want it anymore,” he recalled.

Suthep Thaugsuban, a co-founder of the Action Coalition for Thailand Party, talks to party leader MR Chatumongkol Sonakul at the opening of the party head office on Friday. (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)

Mr Suthep and members of his party went walking in Muang district on Monday and Mai was waiting for him on the pavement. Mr Suthep and his colleagues also toured Chachoengsao province to seek out members for ACT.

The veteran politician from Surat Thani had promised to retire from politics after the PDRC protests. But this year he founded ACT with MR Chatumongkol Sonakul voted as the leader. Mr Suthep said ACT would be a “people’s party” and part of the coalition government, and that he would not take any political positions in the new government.

ACT leaders have said the party's strong support base would come from protesters who had been active before in the PDRC.

Demonstrators use whistles during the street rallies led by Suthep Thaugsubanh to oust then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2013-14. (Photo by Thanarak Khunton)

MR Chatumongkol on Friday accepted the reality that not all those who backed the PDRC five years ago would support the Suthep-led party now. “They had the same goal at that time but they might have different objectives today,” the ACT leader said.

“When you enter politics, you have to be patient,” he added.

But the former Bank of Thailand governor argued that the decision of Mai to return his whistle should be not be seen as a sign that those who had taken to the streets with Mr Suthep were turning their backs on him.

“It was about one bad fish among a thousand good fish,” he said.

Mr Suthep agreed with the party leader, saying his current street campaign for ACT was receiving both positive and negative reactions. “It is normal but please don’t turn violent,” he added.

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