Time to retire the anti-Malaysia rhetoric

Thepchai Yong, The Nation, Asia News Network/Bangkok

At the height of the war of words between the Thai and Malaysian governments over the continuing insurgency in southern Thailand a few weeks ago, two commentators of a popular radio news program called Malaysia an "untrustworthy friend".

They openly accused our southern neighbor of deliberately turning a blind eye to the terrorists, who they said were using Malaysian soil as a sanctuary to launch attacks in Thailand.

In another TV program, two veteran commentators minced no words in putting the blame for the violence squarely at the feet of Malaysian politicians, indirectly accusing some of them of working hand-in-glove with the insurgents.

While the general media coverage of the Thai-Malaysian stand- off in the aftermath of the exodus of 131 villagers who fled from Narathiwat into Malaysia in September was provocative, its anti- Malaysian tone was hard to miss.

Members of the Thai public, therefore, should not be blamed if they wake up every morning believing that Malaysia should be held partly responsible for the next violent incident that hits the region.

After all, who else would they listen to if not the political leadership in Bangkok and the media? Fed up with two years of unabated violence, Thai people are probably as eager as their political leaders to try to find a target for their frustrations.

So all of a sudden, Thailand's historically most friendly neighbor has been turned into a villain in the eyes of "patriotic" Thais.

It was undeniably Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who set the anti-Malaysian ball rolling with his harsh words toward our southern neighbor, either out of frustration or because it seemed good for domestic consumption.

Like in most other cases, Thaksin's words suddenly became commands. Even diplomacy had to make way for political whim.

When Thaksin declared out-of-the-blue that the flight of the 131 villagers was part of a larger "sinister plan" to internationalize the problems in southern Thailand, all normal channels that had proved effective in dealing with Thai-Malaysian border issues in the past became paralyzed.

Diplomats and government officials, both at the local and national levels, who apparently understood the sensitivity involved, chose to remain silent. Voices of reason and caution suddenly were muzzled out of fear of offending the top political leadership.

And those who did speak out only made things messier. Defense Minister General Thamarak Isarangura, apparently in an attempt to echo his boss' sentiment, created an uproar by accusing a former Malaysian leader of being behind a plot to destabilize southern Thailand.

Though Thamarak did not name names, it was obvious that he was implicating former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Thamarak cited an intelligence report that claimed the former Malaysian leader had chaired a recent meeting of core members of a separatist movement at a resort hotel on Langkawi Island in Malaysia, a meeting that resulted in a plan to further escalate the violence in southern Thailand.

The intelligence report is not known to have been corroborated, but its effect on the already fragile Thai- Malaysian relations was not hard to predict. For some reason, Thaksin made no attempt to disown Thamarak's remarks.

The war of words between the two neighbors escalated when their foreign ministers jumped in. One called for a display of "maturity" while the other demanded a show of more "sincerity".

Their trading of barbs made many wonder whether all these years of neighborly friendship and cooperation amounted to nothing.

Worse still, does it mean that the normal channels of communication between the two countries no longer exist, forcing them to talk through the media?

Thaksin, apparently desperate to mend fences with Malaysia, quickly jumped at Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai's quick visit to Kuala Lumpur last week, trying to paint it as a breakthrough in the Thai-Malaysian impasse.

But the trip, in fact, was not in planned as a diplomatic overture; it was necessitated by the death of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's wife.

This week another deputy prime minister, Pol General Chidchai Vanasatidya, will be visiting Kuala Lumpur in an effort to resolve the plight of the 131 Thais living in Terengganu, probably in a bid to find ways to end feelings of mistrust between the two countries.

The fact that a visit to Malaysia by a deputy prime minister is generating so much in the way of expectations only emphasizes the fragile state of relations between the two neighbors.

Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon's announcement last week that he was prepared "to let bygones be bygones" and was looking forward to better relations with Malaysia was a much- welcome sign.

For weeks, Kantathi himself had came under criticism for allowing diplomacy to take a backseat in the stand-off.

Faced with the crisis in the South, Thailand has every reason to expect understanding and close cooperation from Malaysia. Open gestures of support from Kuala Lumpur for Thailand's efforts to contain violence in the South will go a long way to convince the Thai public of Malaysian sincerity.

For Thailand, the time for playing the patriotism card is over. Thaksin should know that he needs Malaysian help if he is to wage an effective fight against terrorism in the South.

Shooting from the hip is certainly no way to deal with the neighbor whose cooperation is crucial.

And for Malaysia, "maturity" is not something that is reflected only by words but also in how one treats one's neighbor in time of troubles.