Slow start for petition against professor

PHUKET TOWN: A petition aimed at pressuring a prominent academic into withdrawing remarks he made about about a revered former abbot of Wat Chalong and to apologise to the people of Phuket has taken off slowly, with only 1,000 or so signatories so far. As reported in the Gazette Online’s Daily News yesterday, Kasetsart University professor Dr Poowadon Songprasert has come under fire for disparaging remarks he made about Luang Por Cham – the much-revered abbot of Wat Chalong at the turn of the last century – in an interview with the magazine “Thaicoon”. Amnuay Koombarn, a member of the Pattana Tongtin faction in the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and the instigator of the petition, told the Gazette, “We believe that once the word gets around, and after the official gathering tomorrow, there could be as many 50,000 signatures.” The gathering, originally scheduled for today, was postponed until tomorrow, when it will be convened at 6 pm at the Lan Nawamin Park on Phuket Rd. “We will have a panel discussion about the history of Luang Por Cham. We have already invited some well-known local historians, such as Sakul Na-Nakorn and Sommai Pinbuddhasin. There will also be some guest speakers from the Chalong area.” K. Amnuay stressed that there is no intention of having Dr Poowadon removed from Kasetsart University, where he is a professor in sociology. “We are Thai people. We are open-minded and always willing to forgive,” said K. Amnuay. “In this case, it may be that there has been a misunderstanding; all we want is an apology for what he said.” So far, there has been no response from Dr Poowadon.