Political satirists out in force
>> The 72nd Chulalongkorn-Thammasat Traditional Football Match proceeded without a hitch yesterday with the satirical processions that traditionally precede the nationally televised annual match allowed to go ahead.
The processions featured effigies of political figures, including one alluding to a character from the epic Ramakien who misused his power leading to his self-destruction.
Political satire is the highlight of the traditional football match between Chulalongkorn and Thammasat universities. Students make fun of politics in the form of floats, banners and flash-card displays.
The parade at yesterday’s game at the National Stadium drew media attention as to which government figures would be the target of mockery.
It was anticipated that the luxury watch scandal involving Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wonsuwon would be among the highlights of the parade.
Even though the regime has imposed a ban on political gatherings of more than five people since it took power in a bloodless coup in 2014, the football game appears to be an exception.
The government claimed they were free to act at will, but sources interviewed by the Bangkok Post said otherwise.
One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said earlier the military has already asked students not to use any effigies featuring Gen Prawit wearing a Hawaiian shirt, ring and watch — as shown in one of the photos that later went viral.
According to the source, who is involved at a high level in organising the pre-match parade, one soldier asked to review drafts of any effigies that were to be featured in yesterday’s game.
Army chief Chalermchai Sitthisad, who is also secretary-general of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said yesterday the council had not prohibited the satirical display. It is a traditional practice at the annual football match.
The parade started at 2.30pm with five effigy processions from Thammasat University’s political satire group.
The first procession featured an effigy of the demon Nontok from the prelude to the epic Ramakien. It had the words “already returned [them] to friends’’ on its left arm. Its back was emblazoned with sacred tattoos with the words “but I am not dead”.
The phrase on the left arm was a veiled reference to the timepieces which have been spotted on Gen Prawit’s wrist in photos that appeared on the popular CSI-LA Facebook page, run by a Thai expatriate in the US. Gen Prawit claimed they all belonged to friends and have since been returned.
According to the prelude to the Ramakien, the demon Nontok is unhappy with his duty as a servant, washing the angels’ feet before they meet Lord Shiva. For a thousand years, these angels constantly mock him, rap his head, slap his face and pull his hair.
With anger and sorrow, he goes to see Shiva and begs for a diamond finger, which can kill anyone at whom it is pointed. Shiva grants his wish. However, Nontok misuses the divine weapon, killing many angels until Shiva orders Lord Narai to fight with him.
Narai transforms into a dancer and seduces Nontok, using a dance routine that requires the dancer to point to his own knee. Nontok imitates the gesture and kills himself with his magical finger.
In his dying moments, Nontok accuses Narai of foul play. Narai decrees that in his next life, Nontok will be born as Thotsakan, a giant with 10 heads and 20 hands, and that Narai will be born as Phra Ram, a human with only two hands. And the pair will fight on Earth.
The second procession mocked the government’s budget spending with military procurements taking precedence over public welfare.
The third procession highlighted land grabs by big businesses while the fourth took aim at government transport infrastructure projects.
The fifth procession mocked the new constitution which the parade’s organisers said loses touch with the public and paves the way for an outsider prime minister to come to power.
However, the procession from Chulalongkorn University was upstaged by the appearance of rock star Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai, who is an alumnus of the university.
Artiwara, famed for his 2,215km charity run from Yala’s Betong district to Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district last year to raise donations to buy medical equipment for 11 state-run hospitals, was welcomed by people attending the match with much applause and cheers.
However, Chulalongkorn’s parade was considered by many as “soft and dull”. It focused mainly on social problems and seemed to only take slight jabs at the government.
The parade criticised the Thai education system for creating “machines that aren’t able to think freely”. It also made an attempt to criticise the Thailand 4.0 policy, saying the people have a limited knowledge of what the government is trying to do for them.
Pimphan Visuthamporn, a Chulalongkorn alumnus from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, said she came to this year’s match because it was special, marking the university’s 100th anniversary.
She said the parades from both universities were lacklustre and the students could have done more to express themselves politically.
“They should have said we want freedom and want our country to return to democracy quickly,” Ms Pimphan said.
Petch Pongsutharam, a sophomore arts student from Chulalongkorn University who was an anchor during the parade, admitted that there was certain level of censorship on Chulalongkorn’s side and that students who organised the parade were asked by the university to tone down.