“We are not Thai Muslim”: The negotiation of Malay muslim identity with Thai national identity in Thailand’s deep south

Abstract

The Thai assimilation policies in the Deep South of Thailand compromised the Malay Muslim identity (afterwards will be called only “Malay Muslim”). Since the policies compromised their Malay Muslim ethnic identity, resentment grew and later become one of the factors of the insurgency in the Deep South. This thesis aims to answer the following questions: (1) to what extent is the impact of the Thai assimilation policies on the Malay Muslim local identity? (2) What is the perspective of the Malay Muslims on the insurgency and the government’s attempt to solve the issue? and (3) What are the strategies the Malay Muslims use to negotiate their identity amidst the insurgency? This thesis argued that Thailand’s national identity is contested with the pre-existed local Malay Muslim identity in the Deep South. The Malays are determined to instrumentalize their identity mainly in the socio-cultural and political movement. Nonetheless, the Thai government has been successful in assimilating the Malays at some degrees. The analytical framework of this thesis are three theories: Assimilation theory from Simons (1901) and Gellner (1983), print-capitalism from Anderson (2006), and entropy-resistant by Gellner (1983). Simons (1901) assimilation theory is used to identify the actors of assimilation and Gellner (1983) to identify the degree of assimilation. Print capitalism from Anderson (2006) is used to explore and analyse the instrument used by both Thai and Malay to assimilate or to resist the assimilation. Lastly, Gellner (1983) entropy resistant concept is used to understand the persistence of the Malay Muslims against the Thai assimilation policies. This study employs a qualitative approach by conducting interviews and on-site field observation in three provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. There are three main findings corresponding to the research questions in the thesis. First, the impact of assimilation is in two main aspects: language and self-identification. The Malay youth who live in the urban area assimilate more than the rural area. Departing from the language impact, the Malays who are assimilated slowly consider themselves more as Thai Muslim rather than Malay Muslim. The second finding is the Malay Muslims perceive the insurgency in a mixed yet dynamic reaction. For them, insurgents cause a feeling of insecurity, especially for those who live in rural area. In addition, insurgents also perpetuate the sense of dual threats from the insurgents and Thai security agencies. The Malay Muslims also hope for the peace, and consider the government progress to solve the insurgency is delayed due to the parallel approach (civilian and military) which creates a non-cohesive process. The third finding is the way Malay Muslims resist assimilation. The Malay Muslims manage to keep their ethnic identity alive by two main channels: political and cultural. The Malay Muslim political involvement in the Thailand central political milieu and creation of civil society organisation is useful to elevate their issues into national level. In the political milieu, the Malay Muslims try to negotiate their social and political stance with Thai government institutions such as the Southern Border Provincial Administrative Centre (SBPAC) and National Reconciliation Commission (NRC). The creation of cultural channels such as events, social media, and buildings also reaffirm the sense of Malay nationalism that counter the Thai assimilation policies. The findings also suggest an alternative approach to address the insurgency issues by focusing more on the social and cultural approach. Since the root of the insurgency also puts identity as the motivation, emphasizing the Malay Muslim social and cultural privilege in the three provinces has the potential to curb the motivation of the insurgents. However, implementing the Malay privilege in the Deep South also must be reasonable by considering other ethnicities living in the area such as the Thai and Chinese ethnics. Nevertheless, Malay cultural approach needs a crucial change in the central Thai government politics as the concept of Malay privilege, if understood wrongly, could cause a tension from the government.