RAMA IX’S LASTING APPEAL
Special coverage on the late monarch’s expanding royal initiatives and projects:
>>It has been three years since the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great on Oct 13, 2016. Thais still cherish memories of their late King and his greatest legacy.
His hard work contributing to the country and his Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) are held in especially high regard. Even some young people who admit they do not normally follow events in public life say they are inspired by his example. “His legacy endures,” Thais say.
Munchusa Udomvit, 45, the owner of Na Siam Gallery, said she reveres King Rama IX for the perseverance he demonstrated on his visits to rural areas.
“It is not necessary for him, as the king, to work hard. However, he never turned a blind eye to his subjects and their problems. His diligence motivates me to excel in my personal life and business,” she said.
Ms Munchusa has held an exhibition of sculptures, called “Our Father Never Goes Away”, for three years to commemorate each anniversary of his passing.
The exhibition near Lat Phrao 122 is open to the public free of charge until tomorrow.
Steven Muthikul Jones, 57, an artist whose sculptures have been shown at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, said he commends the late King’s effort to improve the living standards of those in remote areas.
“Instead of handing out cash, he instructed people in the northern and northeastern parts of Thailand to get on their feet. To that end, he volunteered to prepare land and dams for locals to encourage sustainable agriculture,” he said.
Kotchakorn Voraakhom, 39, a landscape architect who designed the award-winning Chulalongkorn Centenary Park, said she misses King Rama IX every day.
“Now he is gone, I understand even more how much he contributed to our country. I miss him from the bottom of my heart,” she said.
“People who grew up with nightly royal news in which we saw His Majesty perform royal activities [helping the people] will understand well and keep his perseverance in mind. When we face obstacles, we will always think of those things,” said the architect, who has been profiled by Time magazine as one of 15 women leading the fight against climate change.
Apisit Supakitcharoen, 38, a photographer and lecturer at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Ramkhamhaeng University, also takes the king’s contribution as an inspiration.
Since Oct 20, 2016, he and his family have visited 31 provinces and five foreign countries including Malaysia and Switzerland which the king visited.
He set up a Facebook page called Tee Tee Por Pai (The Places Where the Father Visited) to share pictures with the king’s admirers.
Along the way, he learned about the king’s contribution and his teachings, said the lecturer, adding he is determined to keep following in the tracks of the late King.
“Lately my son said he regards ‘Nai Luang’ [King Rama IX] as a hero because he did so many good things,’” Mr Apisit said, referring to his 5-yearold son Phopsuk.
Bhomipat Jaturabhat, 54, a former sports anchor, said he has taken inspiration from the late King in his efforts to be a good person.
“I act on his teaching in my daily life. For instance, I collect rubbish on the street and donate food to stray dogs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wora-aek Sattham, 45, a manager, recalled the time when he was a soldier who stood guard for King Rama IX.
“I revere his sacrifice and honesty. He worked tirelessly and set the best example for all of us. In a sailing race, nobody knew that he ran into a buoy.
“However, he refused to compromise his ethics and returned to the starting point. If it had been others [who were unethical], they might have cheated,” he said.
“King Bhumibol’s teachings abound in all areas, but the SEP is probably his most famous guiding principle,” he added.
“I bear it in my mind every day. It teaches us to moderate our needs within our capacity. It discourages us from setting overambitious goals. It is a lesson that I will pass on to my children,” he said.
In the same way, Dontree Leelapeerapan, 44, a business owner, agreed the SEP defines King Bhumibol best.
“Have you ever seen an image of his squeezed tube of toothpaste? It shows he used resources carefully and extracted the most from them. I would like to apply the principle of moderation in my life,” she said.
On the anniversary of his passing, Ms Dontree said she enjoys listening to songs in remembrance of him.
In Chachoengsao, Benvalee Onthaworn, 34, a community development specialist, said King Bhumibol takes centre stage in her life as her father worked at a royal development study centre.
Her organisation integrates the SEP into the daily activities of locals, such as bookkeeping and waste sorting. “It is not easy as it sounds at all,” she said.
Wanvisa Wattanadumrong, 41, managing director of Farmhouse Kitchen and Daughter Thai Kitchen in San Francisco, said she always shares King Bhumibol’s stories as well as SEP with foreigners whenever she has a chance.
“SEP might sound anti-capitalism, but foreigners love to discuss these things, and the people here in San Francisco care about the environment. They agree that sustainable living is what we humans long for,” she said.
Sivakorn Krissanasuvan, 43, a lecturer at Mahasarakham University, said the SEP could cushion the gloomy economic outlook.
“I feel an urge to follow his teaching because it encourages self-reliance. In fact, I had heard of the SEP for a long time but did not take it seriously.
“Younger generations might have not kept up with the wisdom of King Bhumibol but now we are changing,” she said.
Samitanun Nutup, 23, a partnership development and marketing officer for social enterprise Socialgiver, and her siblings, say their parents, traders at Chatuchak market, always refer to the late King as an example of how to live.
“My parents always said he was in a high position as a king but he sacrificed his comfort and convenience to help others,” she said.
“It’s been three years already and people still commemorate his life,” she said.
“I believe everyone knows what he did with his life, and the people also share the stories from one person to another, from generation to generation,” she said.
She lives her life following SEP, to sustain a quality life while sharing and helping those in need.
Swang Khamasundara, a 103-yearold retired military officer who was born in the era of King Rama VI, said he saw King Rama IX as a role model in leadership who put the public interest over personal interest and gained respect as a figure at the centre of the people’s hearts.
“I don’t know every detail of other kings. No matter whether others agree or not, I strongly believe he is a Maha Raja [The Great].
“I’ve never seen anyone contribute to the public interest as much as King Rama IX did,” the former royal guard said, adding the late King taught by example.
Lt Gen Swang said he misses King Bhumibol often when he reads news about problems in the country. He thinks about him when he is lying in bed and his mind starts to wander.
“Maybe if he has not gone to Nirvana, he is an angel somewhere. I hope he is watching over us to protect problemridden Thailand,” he said.
THAIS OF ALL AGES SAY THEY TAKE INSPIRATION FROM LATE KING’S EXAMPLE
Though it’s been three years since the passing of the country’s revered monarch, Pid Thong Lang Phra Foundation, a royally sponsored initiative applying the sufficiency economy philosophy, is still keen to uphold King Rama IX’s legacy of caring for rural communities.
Its chairman MR Disnadda Diskul confirms the foundation is still working hard to improve living standards for rural folk.
MR Disnadda said the sufficiency-economy philosophy of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great was introduced to Thais five decades ago, but is still a vital solution for problems in society.
The chairman said he now wants to see more Thais adopt that knowledge to solve problems in their own lives.
The Pid Thong Lang Phra Foundation is showing the way by teaching the art of applying King Rama IX’s ideas. The results so far are impressive: thousands of households in designated rural areas are using sufficiency-economy “tools” to boost their quality of life.
Those tools are being adopted to tackle problems of severe deforestation, land use and shortage of water sources, in a model development project the foundation has implemented in several provinces.
The key to its success is getting locals to participate in the solutions to their problems.
The tools are passed on through learning activities that show local communities how to apply the late King’s development thinking in practical ways. In this way they are able to manage problems and control their own destiny.
The foundation was founded nine years ago with a mission to integrate the public and private sectors as well as civil society in finding development solutions for society, he said.
Under its first strategy, the foundation applied sufficiency philosophy from 2009 to 2015 in eight rural districts of five provinces — Nan, Udon Thani, Kalasin, Uthai Thani and Phetchaburi.
The strategy was to help the communities build infrastructure for water supply, soil conservation, rehabilitation of their natural resources, and job creation.
As a result, living standards for 7,990 families in the districts have risen significantly, said MR Disnadda.
The families now have access to a clean water supply. Better still, their total annual revenue from farming has increased from 109 million to 1.04 billion baht, he added.
The foundation helped targeted communities set up 70 relief funds with a total of 15.78 million baht to help 1,634 families, he said.
The successful application of King Rama IX’s ideas saw the five-year project adopted by the government as a nationwide model. The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) made the project a core of its 2014-2017 management plan, according to MR Disnadda.
Under its second strategy (2016-2020), the foundation has extended its development projects in the same five provinces with a goal of helping communities stand on their own feet and achieve long-term self-reliance, he said.
It has also expanded its projects to other provinces, including Khon Kaen, Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Nakhon Nayok, Krabi and Roi Et, as well as northern border provinces hit hard by the drugs trade.
Elsewhere, the popularity and practicality of sufficiency economy theory has seen four universities open courses on King Rama IX’s theory.
The first two phases of the foundation’s strategy are also in tune with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adds MR Disnadda.
First applied in the 1970s, sufficiency economy theory is based on fundamental principles of Thai culture.
At its core lie virtues of moderation, prudence, and self reliance as guidelines for living. Significantly, intelligence and perseverance are also emphasised as prerequisites for genuine contentment in one’s life.
MR Disnadda recalled the world economic crisis that hit Thailand hard during its implementation of the 2nd National Economic and Social Development (NESD) plan (1967-1971).
It left the country vulnerable to the spectre of communism, while opium cultivation remained a severe problem in northern hilltribe areas.
To address these problems, in 1969 HM King Rama IX set up the first royal project on Doi Pui in Chiang Mai province after visiting an opium-growing hilltribe village on the mountain.
According to MR Disnadda, His Majesty realised the hilltribe could cultivate local peaches instead of opium, an ability which was harnessed by his royally sponsored Doi Pui Development Centre to lift the community out of poverty.
Soon after, the 1973 global oil crisis saw Thai inflation reach 10.3%, leading to a shortage of goods. The crisis was eased with the launch in 1975 of another royally-initiated unit, the Phra Dabos Foundation, to promote education and employment opportunities among young people, he said.
Thailand was hit again when the global energy crisis sent oil prices soaring. Once again, King Rama IX responded, initiating a project to produce bio-diesel and gasohol.
The kingdom recovered from the crisis and began industrialising under its 6th NESD plan (1987-1991), but agriculture suffered as a result.
To deal with the impact, His Majesty founded the Huay Mongkol royal development project in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district to boost the agriculture sector.
MR Disnadda notes that the number of royally-initiated projects across the country has since grown to 4,741.
He adds that King Rama IX remains the pioneer and guide for sustainable development work in Thailand. Meanwhile Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra The Princess Mother, who founded the Mae Fah Luang Foundation in Chiang Rai, has applied knowledge in her royal projects on Doi Tung mountain since 1988.