Saturday, December 04, 2004
Thai king tells prime minister to be wary of foreign experts
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, living up to his title of Father of the Nation, advised the country's prime minister on Saturday to be selective in taking up Western ideas and its youth to avoid smoking and loud music.
The king, who rarely speaks at length in public, addresses the nation every December on the eve of his birthday. Bhumibol, who became king in 1946 and is the world's longest-reigning monarch, turns 77 on Sunday. The king's televised speech, which lasted more than an hour, did not mention growing sectarian violence in southern Thailand. He has previously made known his view that the hardline policies of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have been ineffective. The king did have other advice Saturday for Thaksin, whom he scolded in last year's speech for being reluctant to accept criticism. This year, he told the prime minister to be careful when considering whether foreign concepts are applicable to Thai society. "When I listen to this and that from a person from South America, I don't agree with him,'' the king said. "If we listen and believe everyone, it is not good. We have to examine if it is good. If so, we can follow it and the public will benefit.'' The king appeared to be referring to Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, whose ideas about grass-roots capitalism Thaksin has taken up enthusiastically. The prime minister, who was a telecommunications tycoon before entering government, has a fondness for Western management theory gurus. The king said he needed to criticize Thaksin because "otherwise he would think everything he did was good, which is dangerous.'' The king devoted much of his speech to the health hazards faced by modern youth, including smoking. He said that instead of studying, students often go out to listen to loud music, which caused them hearing problems. Not only do such students fail to attain the knowledge that could help society, but their hearing problems also put a strain on the government's health budget, he said.
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