Tradition vs progress fight is hotting up

In Thailand, the tussle between a state-imposed return to authoritarian conservatism and efforts, no matter how feeble, to embrace progressiveness, have manifested in a new fault line that could trigger yet another round of turmoil.

Since the ideological split runs atop this palpable political conflict — deep, fierce and still active despite having been suppressed for three years — the results could be chaotic.

The uproar following the election of democracy activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal as Chulalongkorn University Student Council president on Thursday highlights the social rifts.

Known as a campaigner for democratic rights, thus against certain traditions based on social hierarchy, Mr Netiwit earlier refused to join his freshmen peers in prostrating in front of the statues of King Rama V and King Rama VI during a ceremony to pledge loyalty to the university’s royal founders.

For many people, Mr Netiwit who also caused a stir when he invited a Hong Kong democracy activist to speak about his experiences last year, is an anti-establishment figure, a provocateur. When news broke that he was elected to head the university student council, arguably the most conservative and elitist college in the country, these people were aghast.

Mr Netiwit’s priorities, among them a proposal that people who prefer not to crawl and prostrate to images should have the option of standing to pay their respects, only agitated traditionalists.

Not only has the “enemy” infiltrated into the heart of the traditionalist bastion but is implanting ideas that could disrupt “norms” that have held society in its hierarchical order for ages, the conservatives must have thought.

Negative reactions against Mr Netiwit’s election range from those who believe the political science freshman has been manipulated by anti-military politicians, is calling attention to himself or being misled by extreme ideologies.

To illustrate how troublesome official recognition of the progressive-minded young man by the most conservative educational institute is, even Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha appeared to allude to Mr Netiwit when he addressed a meeting on education and the government’s Thailand 4.0 strategy on May 5.

The PM insisted the new generation must walk forward fully recognising the country’s heritage.

“Not paying respect to teachers or the flag, that will be nonsense. I think it’s a pity and I am concerned that the institute’s reputation may be damaged,” Gen Prayut said during his speech at Mahidol University, Salaya campus.

As debate rages about what good or harm Mr Netiwit will do and how society should respond to his “sacrilegious” idea that people should not have to crawl and prostrate before statues of past kings, a collision between forces that prefer Thailand to return to its feudalistic past and those that see the country in modern terms seems to have come to the fore.

The same is true elsewhere. The press wants to be as free as possible as information flows fast and unstoppable while people seek more transparency and accountability. The military obviously prefers to impose much stricter control.

Information is power after all. If the establishment wants to keep power, they have no choice but to control information. But obviously, people at the top wanting to keep the status quo is going against a larger social trend, a movement being pushed forward literally by mass users of online and social media.

The fissure between information authoritarianism and egalitarianism has been evident for some time through fights about the computer crime, lese majeste or media control laws which are seen as too repressive or problematic.

As the regime tries to consolidate power in the name of “peace and order”, the tussle between freedom and control will keep returning to test society’s limits.

In a way, this tussle is being played out almost everywhere in various guises. City Hall’s attempt to ban street food, seen as messy and lacking in hygiene, goes against what ordinary people in Bangkok or foreign tourists want. They would rather enjoy organically grown commerce than clean but boring restaurants.

Even gender presumptions by the traditional press are being tested by more progressive-minded consumers. A tweet highlighting the political incorrectness of a newspaper headline about a policeman’s same-sex marriage that used a low-brow description of the policeman and his sexuality has been resent more than 50,000 times and liked by more than 4,000 people.

But the traditional media or their associations seem to have no clue about what have they done wrong.

Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist for the Bangkok Post.