In recent weeks, the uncertainty surrounding Pita Limjaroenrat’s attempt to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister has led to renewed interest in another failed bid for the premiership.
Thirty years ago, Air Chief Marshal Somboon Rahong had dressed up in the standard white uniform of Thai officials, ready to receive a royal proclamation appointing him as prime minister. That proclamation never came; Anand Panyarachun was instead appointed to a second term as premier. Today Thais call that episode sai chood khao ror ger — “waiting in vain in a white uniform.”
This is how the story unfolded.
* * *
It was May 1992. Thailand had just experienced one of its worst incidents of political bloodshed in recent history. The coupmaker General Suchinda Kraprayoon, who played a key role in removing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan, was nominated by a coalition in parliament to become prime minister after the first post-coup election. He accepted the premiership despite previously pledging that he would never take the post.
“Breaking a promise for the sake of the nation,” as it was called, did not go over well with the populace. Suchinda’s ascension to the position of prime minister precipitated massive protests and a bloody military crackdown that left over fifty dead, ending only after the intervention of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. After being publicly scolded by the king on television alongside Chamlong Srimuang, the leader of the protests, Suchinda had resigned. Thailand was in a political vacuum.
The responsibility for nominating a new prime minister fell to Dr. Arthit Ourairat, the speaker of the House of Representatives, who, according to the constitution, would have to submit the name of the next prime minister for royal endorsement. A constitutional amendment stipulating that the speaker had to nominate the candidate consented to by parliament had not yet passed, meaning that Arthit had virtually free rein to nominate whoever he wished.
At that time, Thai politics was polarized, pitting two opposing camps against each other. The governing coalition, collectively known as the “devil parties,” had supported Suchinda as prime minister — they were seen as perpetuating the interests of the military junta. These parties were the Samakkhi Tham, Chart Thai, Social Action, Prachakorn Thai and Rasadorn. The “angel parties” — consisting of New Aspiration, the Democrats, Palang Dharma and Ekkaparb — were in opposition.
Because the “devil parties” in the governing coalition retained a majority in parliament, they decided that Air Chief Marshal Somboon Rahong, as the leader of the second biggest party in the coalition, Chart Thai, was to be Thailand’s next prime minister. Speaker Arthit, who was himself a member of Samakkhi Tham, the biggest party in the coalition, came under heavy pressure to follow the coalition’s orders.
Arthit had an independent streak — even while Suchinda was still prime minister, he had told Suchinda that the speaker could not be ordered around by the parties — and he was deeply concerned about what could transpire if the current coalition was allowed to place Somboon in Government House. In particular, he feared that political violence would ensue again. He later explained in an interview: “I knew then that I could not nominate Somboon Rahong. The people would not have accepted it…It was like letting these guys continue doing whatever they want.”
Arthit considered Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the leader of the New Aspiration Party, but Chavalit would have been a poor choice because he had previously been in conflict with Suchinda’s faction while he was in the military. Arthit also approached Chuan Leekpai, the leader of the Democrats, for his opinion. According to Dominic Faulder’s Anand Panyarachun and the Making of Modern Thailand, Chuan bluntly told him that a minority government would not last even a day. Having the opposition form a government would be impossible.
The pressure to nominate Somboon, on the other hand, was immense. Arthit received a big bribe: he was told that he would receive the Ministry of the Interior — one of the most coveted cabinet positions — if Somboon was allowed to become prime minister.
The speaker played for time by asking that a constitutional amendment, then going through parliament, be allowed to pass before he nominated a prime minister. “I must end the likelihood of further conflict by extending the time needed to find a new leader of the executive branch and allowing the process of constitutional amendment to proceed successfully,” a public declaration from Arthit on June 1 said.
In early June, the leader of Samakkhi Tham, Narong Wongwan — himself a failed candidate for prime minister after being tanked due to allegations of being involved in the narcotics business — decided to bring his party members on a retreat to his hotel in the Golden Triangle. Arthit, as a party member, was also brought along. Arthit recalled in an interview: “At first I thought there was nothing to worry about, we were all part of the same group. But then I realized they were locking me up.” He was virtually cut off from the outside world and attentively watched by his fellow MPs. The retreat was intended to prevent the nomination of an alternative prime minister.
Despite the circumstances, Arthit did manage to secretly place one phone call — to former prime minister Anand Panyarachun, who had left office only a few months earlier. Previously a diplomat and a businessman, Anand had been a reluctant prime minister, invited by the military to run the country after the coup. His respectable performance had earned his government accolades, however, despite the fact that it had never been elected. Knowing that an alternative coalition could not be formed, Arthit decided that he wanted to bring Anand back as prime minister to dissolve parliament and hold new elections.
Anand did not want the job. Arthit later said of the phone call: “Khun Anand told me to find someone else. He said he didn’t want the position. I told him that I wasn’t granting him a position, I simply wanted someone who would dissolve parliament. There was nobody else.”
After Arthit returned from his “retreat,” the constitutional amendments passed through parliament on June 10. Somboon Rahong prepared to become prime minister, changing into white uniform at 7 pm, after he was told by a colleague that he should be ready to receive the royal proclamation. (Prime minister-designees in Thailand usually have their own ceremony after the king makes his formal appointment, where they receive the proclamation and bow to a portrait of the king.)
An eyewitness, Pairoj Piempongsant, firmly testified later that he saw Somboon Rahong’s name typed up on the royal proclamation that Arthit took to the palace. The press assembled at Somboon’s house in Don Muang to cover the ceremony. Everything seemed all but settled.
What the coalition leaders did not know was that days earlier, Arthit had not one but two sheets of paper prepared. Wissanu Kruea-ngarm, who was then the deputy secretary for the cabinet, recalls in his book Lao Rueang Phu Nam that Arthit’s staff placed a request for another sheet of official paper of the type used for royal proclamations. Wissanu’s staff replied they had already sent Arthit one. Arthit’s staff explained that they wanted another sheet just in case they made an error while typing out the royal proclamation. Arthit was thus able to secretly carry two royal proclamations — one with Somboon’s name, and one blank — into the palace as he prepared to submit his nomination to the king.
On June 10, Arthit and the parliament’s secretary general, Phaisith Phipatanakul, headed to Chitralada Palace to ask King Bhumibol to approve the appointment of a new prime minister. Once inside the palace, Arthit told Phaisith that he had a new plan. He was not going to nominate Somboon Rahong, because that would definitely lead to bloodshed. Beneath a staircase, Arthit quickly placed another call to Anand, telling him to be ready to be appointed as prime minister. The speaker then asked for another typist to prepare the new royal proclamation.
In his official letter to King Bhumibol explaining his decision to nominate Anand, Arthit wrote: “By nominating Anand Panyarachun for prime minister, he can use parliamentary and constitutional mechanisms to return sovereign power to the people…I believe that Anand Panyarachun is appropriate, as he has governed the country successfully in the past, and so he deserves royal grace to once again use his abilities to restore the country in the short term to a state of peaceful stability…”
The king signed off on the appointment that afternoon. According to Arthit’s recollection, during his audience with King Bhumibol, Arthit told the king that “the country has been through too much trauma — and I thus have the necessity to nominate Anand Panyarachun to solve the country’s problems.” The king, Arthit later said, noted that the speaker was “very brave, like a statesman.”
These events unfolded unbeknownst to Somboon Rahong and his party, who were still preparing to enter government. Wissanu Kruea-ngarm, who was at Somboon’s house at that time, later wrote that his group of bureaucrats received a phone call notifying them that Arthit’s delegation “had come out of Chitralada Palace, but showed no sign of driving down Vibhavadi or Phahonyothin Road, the usual routes to Don Muang. Instead, Dr. Arthit himself appeared headed for the Siam Intercontinental Hotel, while another delegation was proceeding down Sukhumvit Road.” Some began speculating that a typo had been made on the royal proclamation, leading to a rush to print a new proclamation outside the palace, which had happened once when Thanom Kittikachorn was prime minister.
Wissanu wrote that, soon enough, the cabinet secretary grabbed his arm and whispered, “This is highly unusual. Let’s get out of here.” Wissanu replied that it would be considered erroneous if the royal proclamation arrived and they were not there to receive it. The cabinet secretary retorted that it would be even more erroneous if the royal proclamation went to someone else but they were all at Somboon’s house. The bureaucrats quickly disbanded.
Not long after, Anand Panyarachun was on television after being appointed prime minister. The reporters who were present at Somboon’s house broke into spontaneous applause. Somboon, who must undoubtedly had been very confused, simply told the media that Anand was a capable man and congratulated him on his appointment. He then retreated upstairs to change back to regular clothes.
Somboon later said that Arthit called him after the events to apologize for what he did. “It was fine. There is nothing to worry about. I already know the reason,” Somboon told Arthit. He would also claim that he was actually relieved that he did not become prime minister. “When this concluded, everybody was shocked, but I just laughed. It was like lifting a mountain off my chest. That night I slept very well, and the next morning I attended a meeting of parliament as usual. I felt like finally my karmic burden was over.”
Perhaps, however, Somboon did wonder afterwards about what could have been. Ten years after Somboon’s failed bid for the top job, Wissanu sat down with Somboon and asked whether or not he thought he could actually have solved the nation’s problems despite all the protests, if he had become prime minister. According to him,
“[Somboon] firmly answered that he would have been able to, because he had already thought through who he would have invited into his government, how he would have supported rights and freedoms, and how he would have used his skills as a ‘coordinator of ten directions.’ It seemed like he was making a retrospective policy declaration.”
* * *
And so it was that Anand Panyarachun received a second term while Somboon Rahong never fulfilled his ambition of becoming prime minister.
It remains ironic that Somboon Rahong, who was nominated by a democratically elected coalition, was reviled as the perpetuator of military interests, while the country rejoiced when the unelected Anand Panyarachun became prime minister for a second time. Dr. Arthit became known as the “hero of democracy.” It is striking that thirty years later, Thailand’s democracy continue to be in a state of limbo, with the continuation of military rule still an issue of debate.
The challenges facing Pita has renewed interest in the story of Somboon. Outwardly, Pita appears confident that he will become prime minister: his Instagram account states that he is the “30th Prime Minister-designate of Thailand.” He has also began taking meetings with various agencies and preparing a transition team to smoothen the path to power. But will Pita make it? The parliamentary arithmetic is still not in his favor, and legal challenges loom.
However, it is unlikely that we will ever see the story of Somboon Rahong repeat itself exactly. Speakers are no longer allowed to submit whoever they like for royal endorsement as prime minister; instead, the candidate must have been consented to by parliament. If Pita is to fail in his bid for the premiership, it will not happen because of an unfriendly speaker. Instead, it will likely be due to a disqualification on a technicality, or because the appointed Senate refuses to let him through. History will not repeat, but it could rhyme.
Sources and further reading:
- อาทิตย์ อุไรรัตน์ ก้าวข้ามวิกฤติชาติ by The Editoral Team of ASTV – Manager
- เล่าเรื่องผู้นำ by Wissanu Kruea-ngarm
- Anand Panyarachun and the Making of Modern Thailand by Dominic Faulder
- “พฤษภาทมิฬ” จะไม่เกิด หากมีนายกฯ ชื่อ “สมบุญ ระหงษ์?” (ศิลปวัฒนธรรม) by Samien Ari
I would like to thank Nayada Katavetin for her helpful suggestions while revising this piece.