Loyalists and Separatists: The Muslims in Southern Thailand

Abstract

THE CONTROVERSY OVER the Thai-Malaysian border agreement in 1976 reflected, among other things, a recognition in Bangkok that the Thai government was unable to govern the southern border provinces effectively. This paper addresses itself to this problem from the point of view of the Muslims in southern Thailand. What are the main dimensions of the problem, and how are these regarded by the local Muslims?1 The Muslim population in the South is concentrated in the four provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwas and Satul. The southern Muslims represent about 3% of the population of Thailand, or 700,000 people according to the 1960 census. In the four provinces, however, they constitute 70-80% of the local population and are clearly demarcated as a distinct group. They speak a local dialect of Malay and only a small proportion (20-30%) also speak Thai except in Satul, where a substantial proportion of the Muslim population speaks Thai. They are Malay Muslims, maintain their traditional Malay dress and customs, and rarely marry Thai Buddhists. The presence of this territorially concentrated group of Malays in a region bordering on Malaysia, where the Malays have a dominant political role, has meant persistent difficulties for both the Thai government and the minority group. Everyone concerned recognizes that the problem is an old one, going back to the 13th century when the Sukothai kings claimed the southern Muslim sultanates as vassals. This relationship was decisively transformed by the administrative reorgani-