Sufficiency 112

Clipped from Thaiger

It seems that the dead king’s pedestrian thoughts about sufficiency economy is now elevated to something called “Thai philosophy” and is likely also protected by the draconian lese majeste law.

Thaiger had a story a couple of days ago headlined “Netflix comedian slammed for misrepresenting Thai philosophy.” It went on to explain that Sonthiya Sawasdee, listed as “a former advisor to the Parliamentary Commission on Law, Justice, and Human Rights,” but actually a serial ultra-royalist and self-appointed “protector” of all things monarchy, has lodged a complaint “against Udom Taepanich, also known as Nose [or Big Nose], for potentially misleading content in his Netflix stand-up comedy special.” That special “which reaches an audience of 91 million subscribers, is under scrutiny for possibly distorting the principles of Thailand’s Sufficiency Economy philosophy.”

For more on the barking mad ultra-royalist snitch, see our post here.

The report goes on to explain that on 6 May 2024, Sonthiya:

… presented his grievance to the Metropolitan Police Bureau Commander, Police Lieutenant General Thiti Saengsawang, demanding a thorough investigation into Udom’s performance. The key issues at stake involve the accuracy of the information presented by Udom, the alignment of his content with the Sufficiency Economy philosophy, and the impact of potential misinformation on the public’s understanding of this significant economic approach.

In a ridiculous, nonsensical, paragraph, Thaiger makes an extraordinary claim, worthy of the barking mad royalists:

The Sufficiency Economy philosophy, deeply rooted in Thai culture, promotes moderate living, prudence, and self-immunity for sustainable development. It is a subject of national pride and is widely respected across the country.

We’d hope that the news site is unthinkingly plagiarizing Sonthiya, but more is expected of the outlet, even if it does mostly recycle news from other sites.

In another Thaiger report it is stated that Sonthiya’s complaint an investigation of whether Udom’s show may have been comedy but “twisted” the “philosophy’s objectives for entertainment purposes.” The mad monarchist asked:

whether Udom discussed the Sufficiency Economy philosophy, whether the data he presented corresponded with the philosophy’s objectives or was manipulated for humour, and whether the dissemination of false or partially distorted information could lead to public misunderstanding of the philosophy.

Soon after, the corrupt and disgraced former politician Pareena Kraikupt has followed up with an Article 112 complaint against Udom. She lodged her complaint against Udom at the Po Tharam Police Station.

Parina posted a message following the royalist uproar surrounding Udom, saying:

Really can’t sleep, really want to rest, but can’t bear it. Admitting to once admiring him but exploiting the monarchy for personal gain is vile. #HopingForAHarshSentence #LetTheCourtPunishHim

Apparently, she also called for sort “public punishment” for Udom. Perhaps she should seek medical and psychiatric help rather than running to the police over trivial matters and comedy.

The report goes on to say, correctly, that this royalist rage displays has “the ongoing tension between freedom of expression and the [establishment’s] protection of Thailand’s monarchy.” It then comes up with some further royalist conjecture, claiming without evidence that “the defence of the monarchy …[is] a fundamental element of Thai identity for many citizens.” Such claims are part of palace propaganda and the ideology of ultra-royalism.

Thaiger argued that the Pareena’s “reference to public punishment” is “a concept rooted in historical practices of maintaining social order, adds a layer of cultural significance to the unfolding legal drama.” This, too, is nonsensical.

We do know the king punishes people he hates by shaving their heads, which he draws from feudal Thailand, but perhaps Pareena is even more feudal than him, wishing for a return to public beheading or boiling people alive.