Peaceful Thai, violent Malay(Muslim): A case study of the 'problematic' muslim citizens of Southern Thailand

Abstract

This paper tries to understand why the Malay-speaking Muslims of southern-Thailand1 are viewed as perpetual national security threats by looking at some deep-seated identity constructions that align Malay identity with violence and Thai identity with peace and patriotism. By insisting that southern Thai Malay-Muslims identify as Thai rather than as Malay, the Thai state and its Buddhist citizens view Malay Muslims' insistence on their Malay identity as not only a rejection of Thai-ness but also as a threat to the sovereignty of the Thai nation-state. By comparing the Thai Malays with the Thai Chinese, the most discriminated minority in the history of Thailand, the author argues that forging of economic links within and outside of Thailand has helped the Thai Chinese attain both political and economic success in Thailand while the promotion of separatist identities such as Malay and Muslim have bequeathed the Thai Malays a legacy of violence.