Perhaps it was my fascination with royalty that caused me to journey to Tokyo on New Year's Day to wave to members of the Japanese Imperial Family at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. This same fascination caused me to visit London to help line the streets with commoners who waved at Queen Elizabeth ll as she passed by on her way to attend the State opening of Parliament to deliver her speech in the House of Lords.
Nothing, however, prepared me for the King of Thailand's arrival in a park in Bangkok in his royal ivory limousine with a tinge of yellow to celebrate the 65th anniversary of his accession to the throne. The sea of people before me, wearing yellow, did not cheer or wave their national flags as the crowds did in Japan or England, but in unison the phalanx broke into a Thai mantra and bowed to the ground and worshipped the king and the queen as they drove by.As the royal couple proceeded without even waving at their subjects, the crowds descended to the ground in a wave of adulation and praise. I watched on in fascination and bewilderment, wondering: was this King Rama lX a human being or a god?
Still nonplussed, I wondered why this Thai king was so highly respected as to have his subjects all go down on hands, knees and heads to the ground, while singing his praises. I found out later that this was in keeping with Thai tradition, that anyone who wants to greet the king should crouch on the floor in order that his head is lower than the feet of the king. As the head is the most valued part on the Thai body, and the feet is the lowest valued part of the body, the head of a normal person is nevertheless less valued than the feet of a king.The song they sang to the king was also quite different because in Thai a special language is used when speaking to the king. In Thai language, only special words are used to the king because he is not a common person, so common language ought not to be used with him.
Speaking to Thais later, I found out why there was this deep sense of reverence and show of devotion to a king who is now in his 68th year on the throne–making him the longest reigning monarch in the world, even longer that Queen Elizabeth ll. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyedej is the ninth king of the present Chakri Dynasty, hence the title King Rama lX. Ever since he acceded the throne, he has devoted his entire life to the people, working and trying to make their lives better.He ascended the throne following the shooting death of his brother King Ananda Mahidol on June 9, 1946, under circumstances that remain unclear. While a first government statement declared that Ananda had accidentally shot himself, an investigation committee ruled that this was impossible. Two palace aides were convicted of regicide and executed. A third feasible explanation that the king accidentally shot his brother while the boys played with their guns was never seriously considered, as such an implication could have strongly damaged the institution of monarchy.
The king is literally larger than life anywhere you go in Thailand. His face is plastered on the facades of building and there are billboards everywhere with pictures of the king or his wife Queen Sirikit. In business places on the highways and carefully cornered off areas, there are images of the King or the Queens surrounded by the royal yellow flag, the colour of Monday, the day of his birth. It always has a symbol in the middle. There are a variety of symbols, but recently most of the King's flags or royal flags have either the symbol marking his 80th birthday or one commemorating the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne. If you visit any Thai family or business place, there are also pictures of the King, the Queen or the King's mother.
Generations of Thais have only known one king. They tell me that his reign has been characterised by genuinely righteous rule and untold sacrifice for his subjects and he is widely known by his subjects as one of the hardest working monarchs on earth.His presence is so all-pervasive and seems to have seeped into the very fabric of Thai life. For example, while Father's Day is celebrated in T&T on the third Sunday of June, in Thailand it is celebrated on the king's birthday, December 5. Similarly, Mother's Day is celebrated on Queen Sirikit's birthday on August 12 and not on the second Sunday of May.The king and the queen have four children, Princess Ubol Ratana, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Princess Chulabhorn and his heir apparent Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Meeting the people
I was told that throughout his long reign, the king has travelled extensively across the country to visit people in rural remote areas, sometimes in the baking sun or in pouring rain.Such trips helped him get firsthand information about the living conditions and problems of the people, their needs and their desires. When he arrived at the destination, he asked the local people about their life, working conditions, and other problems.On these trips, His Majesty's team of experts and people from relevant agencies study details and work out new development projects that are considered necessary. At the same time, they followed up on the progress of past royally initiated projects.
Out of these countless trips have arisen more than 3,000 royally initiated projects, covering agriculture, water resources, environmental and natural resource conservation, occupational promotion, public health, public welfare, and communication. All these projects are aimed at raising the standard of rural life and helping farmers to become self-reliant. Some of them are fundamental in nature, like water conservation schemes and irrigation the northeast and the south of Thailand.The king has always been interested in rice farming and the farmers' way of life. Since the majority of his subjects are farmers, he intends to sustain this occupation because Thailand remains the world's leading rice exporter, providing 28.3 per cent of the world's rice exports. It remains one of the top ten rice-producing countries in the world.
Since he acceded to the throne in 1946, the King has seen many political, social and economic changes, both in his own kingdom and around the world. He was on his 28th prime minister and the first female, Yingluck Shinawatra (the sister of another Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra who was also overthrown in a coup) before she was arrested in May this year in yet another military coup.
Not only is he the world's longest serving ruler, the King, who will be 85 in December this year, is also the richest–by a comfortable margin. According to Forbes, his estimated net wealth is in excess of US$30 billion, beating oil-rich Brunei's Sultan Bolkiah into second place.
The king's top ranking is controversial in Thailand, to say the least. Republicans grumble that the monarchy is wasteful and inefficient. Others are horrified that foreigners have the gall to turn a lens on their deified ruler. Royal courtiers insist that Forbes has it all wrong, that the billions on the balance sheet belong to the crown, not the man. He is also the the owner of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest faceted diamond in the world, which is estimated to be worth between US$14 million and US$12 million in April 2014.Even though the king is held in great respect by many Thais, he is also protected by lese majeste laws which allow critics to be jailed for three to 15 years. He invited criticism in his 2005 birthday speech by stating, "actually, I must also be criticised. I am not afraid if the criticism concerns when I do wrong, because then I know. Because if you say the king cannot be criticised, it means that the king is not human." He said, "If the king can do no wrong, it is akin to looking down upon him because the king is not being treated as a human being. But the king can do wrong."
Despite this, the lese majeste laws have been toughened such that criticism of any member of the royal family, the royal development projects, the royal institution, the Chakri Dynasty or any previous Thai king is also banned. This has caused the number of lese majeste cases to rise from five or six a year during the pre-2005 period to 478 in 2010.Yet he remains a living national treasure; but one has to wonder: for how long?
More about the King
In addition, the king is an accomplished sailor and sailboat designer, having won a gold medal for sailing in the Fourth Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games in 1967. He is also a highly respected jazz saxophone player and composer, playing dixieland and New Orleans jazz. He plays the clarinet, trumpet, guitar and piano, and started a jazz band even after he accessed the throne.
He did all this despite Thailand having more coups than any other country in the world. While T&T has only experienced one attempted coup in 1990, according to the Washington Post, since 1932, Thailand has endured an astonishing 19 coups, 11 successful military coups, as well as seven attempted coups.