lonelywombat
June 28th, 2006, 07:07
In todays Melbourne Age is an article that might not be allowed in LOS.
It speaks frankly about the alternatives and what is often discussed but not in print
ASIA ONLINE
Royal rumblings: the Thai king's water-tight business dealings and genuine popularity make him a hard man to replace.
Thai riches hinged on wise king's prodigal son
A LOT of rubbish is written about Asia, much of it excessively romantic. But one cliche that does hold is that the Thai people love their king.
The reverence and respect that King Bhumibol (pronounced poomy-pon) is accorded by almost all Thais is genuine and heartfelt. It is not the product of a state-controlled media or legal sanctions. The king has just celebrated the 60th year of his reign, which begs the question, what next?
Under King Bhumibol's stewardship, the office of king has become the one Thai public institution not tainted by corruption, greed and ego. At a personal level, the king is highly intellectual, speaks at least seven languages, and is deeply interested in the sciences, particularly agricultural sciences.
From a business point of view, the king matters for two reasons. His office is a steadying influence when Thai politics are so fractious and corrupt. He is a bastion of common sense, when Thailand's politicians routinely lose theirs, stepping in when needed and yet somehow managing to remain above politics.
In 1981, he stopped a coup in its tracks simply by flying to a northern city where the prime minister, who was about to be deposed, was holed up. The coup plotters immediately lost their nerve.
King Bhumibol performed a similar role in 1992 when faced with another political crisis. He suggested his displeasure at how the national elections earlier in the year were conducted, and so the Thai courts immediately invalidated them. And he refused to approve the replacement for Thailand's capable auditor-general when she was fired after exposing government rorting, which led to her reinstatement.
The king also matters to business because of his private investment vehicle, the Crown Property Bureau (CPB). It controls Thailand's biggest and best-regarded conglomerate, the publicly listed Siam Cement, and a collection of other companies.
The CPB is professionally managed. It sets an example for the rest of Thailand's business community. During the 1997 economic crisis, Siam Cement was brought to its knees with more than $6.15 billion in overseas loans, but it didn't run from creditors like many Thai companies. Instead, meetings were scheduled, its books opened and its debts worked out.
Many Thai companies see it as a great honour to have a business association with the CPB or its subsidiaries. Similarly, foreign investors are well advised to make it one of their first ports of call in Bangkok when looking for a local partner. It is also a massive holder of commercial land in Bangkok and elsewhere, which again makes it a strategic local partner.
The Thai royal family, with 131 branches, is one of the most complex in the world, largely because the first five kings of the current Chakri Dynasty had 325 children by their many wives.
Today, a chairman of a family association keeps track of all members and claimants.
Tthere are literally thousands of royals and near-royals. They turn up in business, in government and on boards.
It is helpful to be able to identify them. Usually, this can be done from their name.
Children of the king and any past kings carry the title Chao Fah. Any child of a Chao Fah is a Phra-ong Chao. In turn, their children carry the title Mom Chao. These three ranks comprise royalty. Subsequent ranks are commoners with royal ancestry. A child of a Mom Chao is a Mom Rajawonse. His or her child is a Mom Luang. And a Mom Luang's child has no title, but has the right to add na Ayudhya after their surname, thereby denoting their distant connection to royalty.
But returning to the king: who is to succeed him? He is almost 80 after all. Formally, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, a graduate of the Royal Military College in Duntroon, Canberra, is next in line. But he is not popular. His personality is cold and his personal life lurid.
He had a daughter with his first wife, whom he later divorced. He then had five children with a new consort, whom he never married. The relationship ended and the children now live in the US. Prince Vajiralongkorn recently stripped them of their royal titles. There are more children by other women, but none are officially acknowledged. Rumours about this and other matters abound.
Prince Vajiralongkorn married again in 2001, to a woman who had been on his staff. The marriage was made public only recently. They had a son, Dipangkorn, in April last year.
It is this child who is now second in line to the throne.
Thais used to the utter propriety of their king look on Prince Vajiralongkorn with dismay. Ask them about their views on him as king and they are likely to reply tactfully by wishing the current king a long life.
So if Prince Vajiralongkorn were not to become king, who else is there? He has three sisters. A 1974 constitutional amendment allowed a woman to ascend the throne. Two of his sisters married commoners, which removed them from the line of succession, although both are now divorced. (One lost her only son in the 2004 tsunami: Prince Vajiralongkorn identified the body.)
That leaves the king's second eldest daughter Sirindhorn. The athletic princess, who hasn't married, and by all accounts isn't likely to, holds a rank that's equivalent to Prince Vajiralongkorn's. She is hugely popular, and works as hard as her father at improving the welfare of ordinary Thais. The media routinely push her cause. She is regal but not aloof, stays above politics, and commands enormous respect from across all of Thailand.
But would the conservative Buddhist monkhood and military find a woman on the throne acceptable? Thailand could do worse.
The succession in Thailand is not a done deal.
www.michaelbackman.com (http://www.michaelbackman.com)
It speaks frankly about the alternatives and what is often discussed but not in print
ASIA ONLINE
Royal rumblings: the Thai king's water-tight business dealings and genuine popularity make him a hard man to replace.
Thai riches hinged on wise king's prodigal son
A LOT of rubbish is written about Asia, much of it excessively romantic. But one cliche that does hold is that the Thai people love their king.
The reverence and respect that King Bhumibol (pronounced poomy-pon) is accorded by almost all Thais is genuine and heartfelt. It is not the product of a state-controlled media or legal sanctions. The king has just celebrated the 60th year of his reign, which begs the question, what next?
Under King Bhumibol's stewardship, the office of king has become the one Thai public institution not tainted by corruption, greed and ego. At a personal level, the king is highly intellectual, speaks at least seven languages, and is deeply interested in the sciences, particularly agricultural sciences.
From a business point of view, the king matters for two reasons. His office is a steadying influence when Thai politics are so fractious and corrupt. He is a bastion of common sense, when Thailand's politicians routinely lose theirs, stepping in when needed and yet somehow managing to remain above politics.
In 1981, he stopped a coup in its tracks simply by flying to a northern city where the prime minister, who was about to be deposed, was holed up. The coup plotters immediately lost their nerve.
King Bhumibol performed a similar role in 1992 when faced with another political crisis. He suggested his displeasure at how the national elections earlier in the year were conducted, and so the Thai courts immediately invalidated them. And he refused to approve the replacement for Thailand's capable auditor-general when she was fired after exposing government rorting, which led to her reinstatement.
The king also matters to business because of his private investment vehicle, the Crown Property Bureau (CPB). It controls Thailand's biggest and best-regarded conglomerate, the publicly listed Siam Cement, and a collection of other companies.
The CPB is professionally managed. It sets an example for the rest of Thailand's business community. During the 1997 economic crisis, Siam Cement was brought to its knees with more than $6.15 billion in overseas loans, but it didn't run from creditors like many Thai companies. Instead, meetings were scheduled, its books opened and its debts worked out.
Many Thai companies see it as a great honour to have a business association with the CPB or its subsidiaries. Similarly, foreign investors are well advised to make it one of their first ports of call in Bangkok when looking for a local partner. It is also a massive holder of commercial land in Bangkok and elsewhere, which again makes it a strategic local partner.
The Thai royal family, with 131 branches, is one of the most complex in the world, largely because the first five kings of the current Chakri Dynasty had 325 children by their many wives.
Today, a chairman of a family association keeps track of all members and claimants.
Tthere are literally thousands of royals and near-royals. They turn up in business, in government and on boards.
It is helpful to be able to identify them. Usually, this can be done from their name.
Children of the king and any past kings carry the title Chao Fah. Any child of a Chao Fah is a Phra-ong Chao. In turn, their children carry the title Mom Chao. These three ranks comprise royalty. Subsequent ranks are commoners with royal ancestry. A child of a Mom Chao is a Mom Rajawonse. His or her child is a Mom Luang. And a Mom Luang's child has no title, but has the right to add na Ayudhya after their surname, thereby denoting their distant connection to royalty.
But returning to the king: who is to succeed him? He is almost 80 after all. Formally, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, a graduate of the Royal Military College in Duntroon, Canberra, is next in line. But he is not popular. His personality is cold and his personal life lurid.
He had a daughter with his first wife, whom he later divorced. He then had five children with a new consort, whom he never married. The relationship ended and the children now live in the US. Prince Vajiralongkorn recently stripped them of their royal titles. There are more children by other women, but none are officially acknowledged. Rumours about this and other matters abound.
Prince Vajiralongkorn married again in 2001, to a woman who had been on his staff. The marriage was made public only recently. They had a son, Dipangkorn, in April last year.
It is this child who is now second in line to the throne.
Thais used to the utter propriety of their king look on Prince Vajiralongkorn with dismay. Ask them about their views on him as king and they are likely to reply tactfully by wishing the current king a long life.
So if Prince Vajiralongkorn were not to become king, who else is there? He has three sisters. A 1974 constitutional amendment allowed a woman to ascend the throne. Two of his sisters married commoners, which removed them from the line of succession, although both are now divorced. (One lost her only son in the 2004 tsunami: Prince Vajiralongkorn identified the body.)
That leaves the king's second eldest daughter Sirindhorn. The athletic princess, who hasn't married, and by all accounts isn't likely to, holds a rank that's equivalent to Prince Vajiralongkorn's. She is hugely popular, and works as hard as her father at improving the welfare of ordinary Thais. The media routinely push her cause. She is regal but not aloof, stays above politics, and commands enormous respect from across all of Thailand.
But would the conservative Buddhist monkhood and military find a woman on the throne acceptable? Thailand could do worse.
The succession in Thailand is not a done deal.
www.michaelbackman.com (http://www.michaelbackman.com)