New faces bring hope for wind of change

New faces bring hope for wind of change

A voter casts a ballot at a Bangkok school during advance voting. Wichan Charoenkiatpakul
A voter casts a ballot at a Bangkok school during advance voting. Wichan Charoenkiatpakul

I have a strange feeling. I feel the wind of change is coming.

When we talk about change, we often have young people in mind. There have been indications the time has come when the youth will step forward and take hold of their own future.

Not so long ago, there was a general sense of despair that our youth were just an egocentric tribe. They had no interest in whatever happened around their own little world. They didn't care about politics, didn't care about social and economic inequalities, and didn't care about the plight of the disadvantaged, farmers, ethnic minorities, or the poor in general.

All they cared about was making sure they looked good in chic clothing, used the right brand of skin cream, went to the right watering holes, finished college and got a well-paid job.

I was one of those who nearly despaired and gave up hope of seeing the day when young people would assert themselves and lead the country to a brighter future. The future belongs to them after all.

It's been such a long time since the youth of the 1970s changed the face of Thai politics.

Oct 14, 1973, was the first time in Thai political history that the common people, led by students of the day, brought about change. You could be forgiven, however, for arguing that things have long since settled back to the way they were, as if nothing had happened.

Politics remains a game of power grabbing played by the elites. Politicians as a group are still seen as being in the profession to accumulate power and wealth, rather than working for the people. The military-bureaucratic-industrial complex continues to dominate society in every facet of life. Ordinary people have little role to play in charting a course for the country.

The result, as we can plainly see, is the world's greatest wealth gap, with the top 1% having greater wealth than the remaining 99%. The environment is going to hell in a hand basket as industrialisation unceasingly brings destruction to large swaths of natural resources.

Environmental and social problems are allowed to accumulate and fester as no one in authority offers any real solution. We are in an era of, as a Thai saying goes: "Whoever has the longest arms hogs it all."

But while the voice of ordinary adults is feeble, youth are told to keep their mouths shut as Thai custom demands. Their role is to obey, be quiet and not speak up.

Against all odds, change did occur and more will be coming soon.

Strange as it may seem, one of the most conservative higher education institutes was one of the first to start the process of change.

Last year, students at Chulalongkorn University voted a freshman as the new president of the student council. The election of Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal caused a huge uproar among the conservative elements, not only on campus but society-wide.

Netiwit, for the uninitiated, is considered by some as a progressive and by others as a radical student. It would not be a surprise if some others consider him an extremist.

His notoriety? As a high-school student, he led protests against school rules pertaining to haircuts and uniforms.

A freshman being elected the student council president in an elitist, conservative campus would have been unimaginable not too long ago. It says something about the gap between adults and young people in this country.

During that time, groups of young people began to engage in political activities, not just protests or demonstrations, but also discussions to try to make sense of current social and political issues facing society.

Mind you, the really active groups are still pretty small. But isn't that always the case? It takes small groups of active people to bring real change.

Somehow, these small groups of people have managed to put their messages across to the wider circle of their peers. I think now we are seeing the beginning of a real movement.

Several factors, too, have coalesced to give the movement a strong momentum. Being deprived of political participation for more than eight years is one. A weak economic outlook and poor job prospects are another. For too long people have been told to keep their opinions to themselves and do as they were told.

Technological change probably plays a decisive role. We are in a disruptive era. The internet has released the genie and now everyone with a mobile phone can access information that otherwise would have been denied them in another era.

The government no longer has a monopoly on information. Pure propaganda is no longer effective. It's not too difficult now to expose fake or misleading news.

Possibly, change will put on wings starting tomorrow. It would be naïve to expect real change overnight. The process will be a long one. However, the palpable desire for change is unmistakable. When it does take off, we'll see a new face of Thai politics.


Wasant Techawongtham is a former news editor, Bangkok Post.

Wasant Techawongtham

Freelance Reporter

Freelance Reporter and Managing Editor of Milky Way Press.

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