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Thailand's Southern Border ProblemsThailand's Southern Border Problems
see also Malaysia and Thailand
Fact 1: The 4.5 million Malays of Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala, Satun and Songkhla are a distinct national group with their own heritage, language, culture, and customs.
Fact 2: These Malays are muslims, but adherence to the Islamic religion is NOT the defining factor in differentiating them from the Siamese. Indeed, there are many Siamese muslims in Bangkok, Phuket, Trang, Krabi and Ligor (Nakorn Sri Thammarat). These "Thai-muslims" are either non-Malays or descendants of Malays that were assimilated into Siamese society many generations ago.
Fact 3: There is no doubt that strong common historical linkages exist between the Siamese Kingdom and the Malay Sultanate of Pattani as well as the lesser Malay states, or fiefdoms, stretching from Satun / Tarutao in the west to Saiburi in the east. These so-called Malay vassal states (which included the current northern Malaysian states of Kelantan, Trengganu, Perlis and Kedah) were loosely subservient under nominal Siamese authority for many centuries. Their acknowledgement of Siamese sovereignty was limited to the symbolic remittances of Gold Leaves / Bouquets (Bunga Mas) every couple of years. The Siamese Kingdom itself, of course, was subservient (on a macro view) to the emperors of China but that does not legitimize any modern day Chinese claims on Thailand (see how ludicrous the "logic" goes if we use this argument to determine Thai sovereignty over the Malay lands).
Fact 4: The historical linkages between Siam and these Malay states were essentially alliances of convenience brought about by larger external threats from all corners of Southeast Asia. The Siamese were locked in centuries-long epic battles with the Burmese and Khmers. The Malay states were resisting invasions from the fierce warriors of Acheh, Pasai and Makassar (Bugis) as well as the dominating influence of the Malacca Empire. Malacca itself forged a strong alliance with China to curb Siamese expansionism on the Malay Peninsula but thats another story. To face these threats, the Siamese and Malays jointly faced the wrath of the Burmese hoards at the Kra Isthmus in numerous battles over three centuries. In one instance, in the late 1700s, the Sultan of Kedah sent 50,000 Malay warriors to Ligor and Chumphon to rescue the Siamese from near defeat at the hands of the Burmese.
Fact 5: The deterioration in relations started when newly nationalistic Siamese leaders (beginning in the 1890s) somehow "lost" the rationale of the Malay-Siamese coexistence in the region. Instead of recognizing the Malay states and population for what they are, the Siamese govt. began a series of fatal moves which resulted in turmoil and sufferings until today.
Fact 6: The first thing Siam did was to regard these Malay states as their own, incorporating into their political maps the vast swath of land from Nakorn Sri Thammarat in the north to the frontiers with the British colony of Penang and the British Malay states of Perak and Pahang in the south. Hundreds of place and geographical names were transliterated into Siamese and until today officially pronounced based on the inherent vernacular limitations of the Siamese language. A sampling: Patani, Menara, Jala, Singgora, Setol, Ligor, Teluban, Bukit, Tabal, Tanjong Mas, Sungai Golok, Sebayu, Bendang Setar, Penarek, and Jering became (respectively) Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala, Songkhla, Satun, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Saiburi, Phuket, Takbai, Tanyongmat, Sungai Kolok, Sabayoi, Bannang Satar, Panare, and Yaring. Hence, overnight the Malays were living in towns and cities bearing mutilated, alien names. This is equivalent to Washington being corrupted to Washingburg, Washingville or Washingrad. Do you think Americans will accept this peacefully?
Fact 7: As if the place-name corruption was not enough, the Siamese forced the Malays to disown their ethnic identity. The Malays are now "Thai Muslims"; their Malay language is now called Yawi (which is actually nothing more than yet another Siamese corruption of the Malay word Jawi, meaning writing in the Arabic script); Malay names are replaced with weird sounding instantly-concocted Siamese names; and so on and so forth. Friends, how would YOU feel if tomorrow you wake up bearing a weird sounding name (imposed on you), where your race does not officially exist and your hometown name metamorphosed into some laughable alien sound? Would you take it sitting down? Would George Bush of Washington be amenable to being called Georgi Bushev of Washingrad? Of course not. Obviously, Thaksin Shinawatra won't be happy being called Amitabh Shinawalla.
Fact 8: To wrap up this deception, all forms of discontent by the Malays were lumped into a general-purpose "Thai muslim unrest in the south" category, effectively burying the REAL cause of the upheaval.
Fact 9: Fast forward to 1900-1909. The Anglo-Siamese Treaty (in which the Malays were not represented) effectively dissected these Malay states into two equal, imperfect parts: Pattani, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Satun and Yala remained under Siamese hands with Kelantan, Trengganu, Kedah and Perlis reverting to British rule. The British logic for sanctioning the continued Siamese occupation of the remaining northern half of the Malay lands was the perceived value of Siam as a friendly buffer against the French in Indochina. Sensing this British greenlight, Siam quickly annexed Pattani and the rest in 1906. The last Raja of Pattani, Tengku Abdul Kadir Kamaruddin, was dragged to Bangkok, jailed, humiliated and died a broken man. The royal palace was looted and a symbolic object of Malay pride, the huge cannon known as Sri Negara, was siphoned off to Bangkok as war booty and placed until today in front of the Thai Ministry of Defence Complex.
Fact 10: With the abrupt, arbitrary partition of their homeland into Siamese and British halves, the Malays of Satun / Kedah and Pattani / Kelantan were suddenly separated from their families and farms by an artificial international border, which is actually little more than a muddy stream known as the Golok River in the east and farmland/jungles in the west.
Fact 11: To summarise, the current situation CANNOT be solved by current methodologies. Indeed, more heartache and sufferings will be incurred by all sides if we do not conceive a just, logical solution.
Solution? Lets take the baby steps first:-
1. Thailand must finally officially recognize the existence of a separatist problem in the south driven NOT by religion (the usual Islamic terrorism, Taliban, Al Qaeda, JI, ad nauseum) but by a strong, inextinguishable sense of ethnic identity, i.e., the 4.5 million Malays in their own homeland currently illogically and precariously tethered as a sore appendage to the Siamese Kingdom.
2. Thailand respects the unique cultural, historical, religious and linguistic heritage of the region. Thailand takes note of the special historical ties stretching many centuries between the Siamese and Malays in this region. Indeed, the heritage of the Malays (remember, never ever call them Thai muslims again) of the south has enriched Thai culture in general and has made Thailand the real microcosm of southeast Asian identity, the bridge between the two great cultural spheres of the Malay Archipelago and the Indochinese peninsular.
3. To acknowledge the unique heritage of the Malay states, a degree of autonomy would be bestowed upon the region, to be collectively called The Autonomous Region of Pattani Darussalam (ARPD), which will encompass the five southern provinces.
4. ARPD will be governed by a leader elected directly by citizens of the region.
5. Malay is the official language of the ARPD. Thai will remain as an officially recoqnized second language and protected by statute.
6. ARPD shall exercise control over natural resources, regional development, domestic trade, domestic taxation, land matters, domestic immigration, domestic security, local law & customs, and the education system.
7. The Thai central govt. shall have sovereignty over national defense, currency, international relations, international trade, and inter-regional relations within Thailand.
8. Malaysia should be a party to guarantee perfomance of the ARPD framework. Lets face it, whether anyone likes it or not, Malaysia is Thailand's only hope of salvaging the situation in the south. Through obvious ethnic, linguistic and religious affinity with the Pattani Malay States, Malaysia will ensure the security and stability of the region through measures perceived as favourable by the Malays of Pattani. Correspondingly, Thailand's sovereignty over the Pattani Malay states would remain (again guaranteed by Malaysia) UNTIL it is deemed necessary by the UN to conduct a referendum (a la East Timor) to determine the people's preferences. This process may take up to a decade or more.
Are there similar arrangements anywhere in the world? Sure, you have Catalunya and Galicia in Spain, Mindanao in the Phillipines, and many other countries practising the federal system of government (US, Germany, Australia, UAE). Actually, Thailand should look no further than its neighbour Malaysia. How do you think KL can govern the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak (separated by 1,000km of the South China Sea)? Why no separatists there? Because, these states have all the rights in the world, including share of natural resources, power over land matters, control of migration from peninsular Malaysians, recoqnition of native languages, customs and festivals, etc.
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