Weekend reading: New book provides rare glimpse of Thailand's king

Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej greets one of his loyal subjects in the central region of Thailand in this undated file picture. EPA/ROYAL HOUSEHOLD

By Peter Janssen
May 18, 2006
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

Bangkok - Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej - the world's longest reigning monarch - is in the world spotlight this year.

Next week, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan will visit Thailand to present the king with a UNDP award for his lifetime achievement in rural development. King Bhumibol will be the world's first monarch to be granted the UN honour.

Next month, royalty from 27 nations will come to Thailand to attend celebrations marking the king's 60th year on the throne.

The international attention on Thailand's remarkable monarch comes at a time when the king has been very much in the limelight at home as well.

King Bhumibol, who is head of state under Thailand's constitutional monarchy, last month arguably single-handedly defused the country's latest political crisis by calling on the judiciary to do their duty in deciding on the legitimacy on the country's April 2 snap election, which was turned into a farcical one-party affair after it was boycotted by opposition parties.

The king, in an audience granted the judges, stressed that he had no constitutional power to interfere in the 'mess,' while the judiciary did. They have since followed his guidance and Thailand appears to be heading towards some sort of political normalcy, albeit slowly.

This year's political crisis, which witnessed mass street demonstrations calling on the king to appoint a new prime minister and government, has raised questions about the role of the monarchy in Thai politics, a sensitive topic about which public debate is often muted because of the country's tough lese majeste law.

Fortunately, for the English-reading public, a new book will be out next week that promises to shed some light on the unique role King Bhumibol has played, historically, in both developing rural Thailand and keeping the country democratic.

Originally written in Thai by Vasit Dejkunjorn and published in 1999, the English-translation of 'In His Majesty's Footsteps: A Personal Memoir' should be available at Bangkok bookstores on May 22 with limited hardback editions available on the Heaven Lake Press website: www.heavenlakepress.com.

The author, Police General Vasit, 76, is no ordinary Thai cop. A Harvard University graduate, Vasit's varied career has included 12 years as the chief royal court officer, journalist, novelist, senator and deputy interior minister.

In His Majesty's Footsteps recounts Vasit's personal experiences from 1970 to 1982 when he was responsible for the king's personal security, and that of the royal family.

It proved a challenging beat.

'I joined his service when I was 40 years old. When I was 41 I was already gray,' recalled Vasit.

In the 1970s Thailand was deemed a frontline state in the US-led 'war on communism' in neighbouring Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, all of which would opt for communist regimes by 1975.

In 1970, King Bhumibol had started his own rural development work, for which the UNDP will award him next week.

'At that time of uncertainty, danger was everywhere,' said Vasit. 'He had to go into communist-ridden areas. Most of the people accompanying him, including myself, were armed and the king sometimes packed a pistol himself, but obviously he was doing that for the benefit of the troops and police.'

Many have argued that the king's rural work, which took him to many of Thailand's most remote, neglected areas, were a private anti-communist campaign.

Vasit disagrees. 'In my own mind, I don't believe fighting communism was his motive. Not at all,' said Vasit. 'He saw it as his duty.'

Vasit recalled asking the king once what he would do if Thailand became communist. 'And he said, without hesitation, 'If the country turns communist, this country will have another citizen named Bhumibol Adulyadej.''

Although Vasit's book tends to steer clear of the king's political role, the topic is, at times, unavoidable.

For instance, Vasit was in charge of security during the popular uprising of 1973, when thousands of students flocked to the Chitlada Palace, the king's Bangkok residence, to demand the resignation of the dictator Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn.

After a tense showdown, and many student deaths, the king granted Thanom an audience and advised him to leave the country, which he promptly did.

To fill the political vacuum, King Bhimibol then appointed Professor Sanya Thammasak as prime minister.

'I wanted to point that the king didn't seize power and appoint his own prime minister,' said Vasit. 'He used legal instruments that were still available at the time, and once the prime minister was appointed the king stepped back.'

The incident is pertinent to Thailand's current political crisis, where many have called on the king to intervene but he has refused.

'He wants to keep the monarchy constitutional,' said Vasit. 'I think the king understands democracy, more than some of the leaders of this country.'