The recent incident that took place in Narathiwat where elevenpeople were killed was given wide coverage by the Malaysianmass media for several days and there were carefully-worded butclearly defined comments that these killings were the work of theThai military.Villagers were 'quoted' as saying that local separatists wouldnever commit such a crime inside the compounds of a religiousbuilding and therefore the Thai military was responsible.Malaysian politicians and the Malaysian mass media have beenvery extremely interested in the situation in south Thailandall these years. The former Thai premier, Thaksin, was oftenlambasted in the Malaysian media due to the widely perceivednotion that he was greatly responsible for the 'sufferings'of the villagers in south Thailand.The depth of Malaysian interference in the internal affairs ofThailand, whether directly or indirectly, plus the ineffectivecontrol of the situation in the south by the Thai authoritiescould spell potential trouble for the future. The 2 neighboursmight possibly resort to armed actions on the common border.Armed conflict might not be entirely impossible, as fightingbetween soldiers has happened more than once on the Cambodian-Thai border and not too long ago, an explosion at a Malaysianarmy post was initially blamed on Thai soldiers. The situationis made worse by the tendency of the Malaysian side to providethe separatists with moral support.Malaysian politicians and mass media have often moaned about'oppression', 'neglect' and 'hardship' endured by the peoplein south Thailand. Absolutely nothing was mentioned about thepresence of bomb-making experts and serious military hardwarefound within the areas infiltrated by separatist militants.The Thai authorities however must shoulder much of the blame forthe violence now taking place in south Thailand. The country hasbeen busy trying to meddle in the affairs of other countries,especially in Myanmar and Cambodia, but it could not controlthe criminals and armed militants who operate freely in thesouth of the country. Contract killings, robberies, smugglingand kidnapping are rife in the region. Bribery and corruptionare endemic as well. The Thai police and military have beenunable to exert their authority and local Mafias and religiousextremists have taken full advantage of it. Added to this isthe attitude of the Malaysian authorities who happily liked tomeddle in the internal affairs of south Thailand when given theslightest opportunity.Thailand should employ grid security measures in the south.The entire region should be marked out and each area assignedto a particular security unit and round the clock roadblocksset up to monitor the movement of people and vehicles. Overtime, the security will improve and others would be less ableto meddle in the internal affairs of the region.The Malaysian authorities should also play their part. Stop
Leave a Comment