Deputy PM says criticising government is not a big deal

Criticising the government or Thai monarchy is generally punished with a lese majeste charge and time in prison as three critics discovered last week. Yet this week, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan hailed Thai comedian Udom Taepanich’s satire adding that the funnyman’s criticisms of the government are not a big deal.

Udom Taepanich, aka Nose Udom, is a Thai stand-up famous for his comedy series called Deaw (เดี่ยว), which means single. The show debuted in 1995 and there have been 13 shows in Deaw series.

Deaw 13, available on the Netflix streaming service, was performed from June 10 to 19 earlier this year after three postponements due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 54 year old standup regularly makes fun of the Thai government as part of his routine.

In one part of his routine, he said…

“Right now, we are all on the same plane named Thailand. Normally, a skilled captain would control the plane for us, but he’s not. Good captains no longer have the opportunity to control the plane; the person who does it now is a security guard.”

Thai audiences recognise that Nose is speaking metaphorically, comparing the country to a plane and the prime minister to a security guard. Many Thais believe this is insulting to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Nose Udom also made fun of the Thai government and PM Prayut in other parts of the show too.

“PM Prayut compared himself to a computer. Please calm down. You can’t be a computer. A computer has a processing and memory unit, but you don’t. You can only be a typewriter, which is old and doesn’t even have a monitor. Its sound is also annoying too.”

“Confirm about transparency, but examination is not allowed.”

“Pretend to be angry when don’t know the answer to the question.”

The reaction to Nose Udom’s satire evoked mixed responses. Some agreed, announcing on social media that they are big fans of his comedy while others disagreed adding they would never support him again because he insulted the PM.

The Secretary of the Association of the Thai Constitution Protection Organization, Sisuwan Janya, and the adviser to the House committee on law, justice, and human rights, Sonthiya Sawasdee, reported that they would sue Nose Udom for his inappropriate performance.

But, in a turnaround for the books, both the Thai premier and his deputy made known that they enjoyed the comedian’s routine.

The Prime Minister Office’s Minister Anucha Nakasai revealed that PM Prayut had already watched the show and agreed with some parts of the performance.

Deputy PM Prawit gave a telephone interview with Thai media yesterday. He also said he is a fan of Nose Udom. Prawit acknowledged that the comic always criticised the government in the shows, adding it is only entertainment.

Prawit believes that the audience can make up their own mind about whether criticising the government is a big deal.