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King Chulalongkorn.
‘The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej’ is the title of the book by Paul M. Handley which out of many, describes to readers the survival stories of Thailand monarchs.
The book starts with a quote from Prince Chakrabongs’s letter in which he expressed to Rama VI his fear of the progressive pact. He noted that the content the conservative pact spares the monarchy with their Saturnalia of excess faith, is but temporary for at the end, democracy shall prevail.
The sustainability of Thailand monarchs owes mostly to the ‘flexibility’ which the band of kings (from Chulalongkorn to Bhumibol) bestowed upon the Ptolemaic model of politics which revolved only around Buddha-like kings.
It is amazing how these great kings worked their way to protecting the monarchy, avoid western interventions and ease the tension that was building up within the empire. Prince Prajadhipok pursued his education in medical study and Militarism in the US, the UK and in Germany. To be the king of all Thailand is the last thing he wanted because he was determined to serve as a doctor at a public hospital and the best for his son, was to his perspective, anywhere outside the clear-white, four walls of the palace.
About fifty years before that, the Mexicans were already bracing themselves for a reform known as ‘La Reforma’. The subjects of dissatisfaction: the absence of a nation state system which appreciates political, geopolitical, culture and ethnical values and the non-Liberal system.
The new constitution they drafted during ‘The Plan of Ayutla’ paved its way to be the Constitution of 1857.
This time around, Malaysia might just be entering its ‘Age of Enlightment’ or ‘Zeitalter der Aufklaerung’. When the people collectively notice a malignant cancer of malpractices within government sphere which worsen with time, they would strike in one of two manners or both: reform or/and revolution, depending on how ‘headstrong’ this cancer is.
Looking at Malaysia’s political barometer, a reform is most probable. In this reform, the reformists would shore capitalism and the non-reformists would completely transform it and neither would bring benefit to the monarchs be they constitutional or not. So the price of Wan Aziz Datuk Seri Wan Mohamed’s strategy in this case is the nationwide negligence to the need of a functioning monarchy, because in time, people will forget the bond between reform and religious, socialistic and Utopian sentiments.
Emphasize on nourishing good moral values among the youngsters by way of practice of the older generations and not on giving away pamphlets explaining about ‘Perlembagaan Malaysia’ or any information of close resemblance which are already in ‘Buku Teks Sejarah’.
We love our king.
Just my two cents.
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