I was contacted a few weeks ago by someone who claimed they were from MICT. They very politely asked me to remove 2 trackback comments on http://www.bangkokdiaries.com. Apparently, they were monitoring a few other blogs that linked back to my site.

I enjoy visiting your blog Matt but there are times when i doubt some of the stuff you come up with. Do you seriously think we are going to believe that the MICT in Bangkok went out of there way to contact MICT Phuket, then incredibly find your phone number and call you? About one single comment!

There are plenty of other websites/blogs which are much more popular than this one, which post much more provocative and sensitive stuff than yours. They never get contacted by the MICT.

There are times Matt, when trying to pull in more viewers, you just make something sensational up. Oh and before i go, i saw you in a Phuket disco. But then again, you always get noticed when you go out just because of your blog.

Imagine that — the government of Thailand pays someone to read your blog! Perhaps it would be cheaper for them if they simply paid you directly — a monthly fee, say — for not writing certain things. How’s that for a blog money-making concept?

Maybe it was just a wind-up. With all due respect I dont think this blog is a huge threat to Thai culture…

The call came from a man named K. Suksiri. The call was actually taken by one of the Thai staff here.

Believe what you want. I’m not making this up. If it was a wind up, then so be it, but what would you do if faced with the same situation? All I know is that a Thai man called the office and identified himself as from the MICT in Bangkok.

If it was a windup then I would have expected it to be a little more elaborate, rather than specifying one comment, which would offend most Thai people.

Whatever your opinions of me — I can see they are pretty low — it was just common sense to remove the post/comments. If the call was fake, what have I really lost? If it was real, then you’re all wrong.

And when have I ever claimed to be the “famous writer in Thailand”? Pathetic insults when really I haven’t done anything to warrant them.

Amazing effort by the authorities! Better than having your visa revoked, if no hoax.

Hi Matt,

I believe you but I also believe you are a bit gullible in this case! The MICT has much bigger fishes to can and I guess you have been tricked by one of your own reader.

In all case you should not have caved in! As a journalist you must stand by your writing and if it was a comment that was offending, add a not saying your are not responsible for the comments made on your blog or the content of other blog you link to (see the BBC website).

Bring back this post for pity’s sake! and don’t tell me your life depends on it! And if you ae asked again ask for it to be done in writing!

~R

Alright I’ll put the post back up, but I’m leaving the comments deleted and turned off. Thing is, my first thought was that it was a prank, but then, how can I know one way or the other?

If I have been tricked, well, I haven’t lost much. It gave me something to talk about anyway.

Lemons, actually.

HEY,Matt..you may have a friend work for gov. agency…right?

MICT maybe dumb but they’re not stupid. They work with service providers, they can block YouTube and jail forum posters. It’s not hard to monitor the net everytime HMtK is mentioned.

They took you seriously because you are a genuine blogger, a real writer.

I mean you are credible.

I think.

But why did you delete my comment? I just wanted to say “Happy Birthday”. I reckon I was not qualified to say that,

wasn’t I?

Sooksiam, I don’t know really. I was at work when they called and I just rushed through it and deleted everything as quick as I could. Sorry to delete your birthday comment.

Sorry.

Sara-

Kahuna is the Hawaiian word for king. Nothing disrespectful about it. I was just trying to be sensitive to Matt’s predicament by using a different word for king.

OK then Panmoria, tell why I shouldn’t have posted such a topic?

And the link you gave me redirects to Wikipedia. What are you talk about?

Interesting Matt. You put the post up again but refuse to put the comments up again. This suggests the calumny was in a comment and not the post? Whets the curiosity does it not? I don’t remember seeing anything in the comments to that post which could reasonably be described as likely to be offensive to HMK, but then He has already indicated he thinks the Lese Majeste laws here are inappropriate, and he pardoned the victim of the last prosecution after 2 weeks, something the Government lost a lot of face over. Perhaps the only people concerned about this are indeed the Government, in which case one might reasonably ask why…

Apologies! Gave you the wrong link (missed the “:”):
http://absolutelybangkok.com/?p=151
And respect how many comments ur blog gets! good work!

So typically Thai. No freedom of speech and too much time devoted to pathetic, anal issues. Don’t worry so much Matt, if you get thrown out of the country for mentioning this bloke’s shirt in a disrespectful way at least you can sell the story to papers around the world, you’d make a mint mate. This Thai obsession with **** **** really is too much.

Pathetic, anal issues and this bloke’s shirt? Clarification, please? Who are you comparing to an anal issue?

It should not be too difficult to request anybody to respect just one particular subject in this society. ;o)

If this issue was known publicly, this could put Matt into a very difficult situation. It is not only a problem with the Thai authorities, a great deal of Thais will certainly turn against him too; and the Thai media could easily spin this story around. Who knows what would happen next?

Anyone who regularly reads this blog will know that Matt has no intention of offending anybody, regardless of whether they are Thai or Farang, albeit he hastily comments about women from time to time.

Here here Bedwyr! Come on Sooksiam, try to step outside the box and take a look at Thailand from an outsider’s POV. Nearly the whole nation wearing yellow every Monday, and now adding pink and blue on other days. From outside it does look a bit freaky ya know, a little bit like a frenzied obsession. Kinda like monarch led communism.

Well, you could go on a nice long holiday…

Thanks anyway. I pick those with whom I “come” carefully. I like my women to be intellectual and have a sense of identity independent from those whom they wish to impress.

Are you an old lady, Sooksiam? I think we’d be perfect together.

Only if she’s rich.

Where’s Sooksiam? Sooksiam, attack!

this really has become rather a ridiculous thread; i was enjoying the debate, but then again, maybe some things just aren’t to be discussed in such a country as thailand.

So?

At least, we don’t go for minors like most western men do. I quite understand that your female ilk are a bit porky; that’s why the men have to resort to pleasuring themselves with juveniles.

Let’s make it to 60, shall we?

Chill out, bro! I am just joking about. Don’t be so uptight; otherwise you might suffer from severe constipation.

I think there is nothing wrong with having sex for money providing that the action is between consenting adults.

Oh, what a shame! It was already too late to apply for the job!

And?

I was not the only person who started to rant about other subjects on here. In fact, I was not the first rogue who started to launch into a diatribe against anybody else; I thought it was you who did it.

I must apologise for using such an inappropriate word with your male kind, despite the fact that many are so sicko. You cannot help associate them with sexual perverts, can you? According to my research, your species are into anything sexual and bizarre. It is just like they will do anything as long as they can find a hole. If you think I am making something out of proportion, you could, at least, explain to me why there are so many sexually perverted websites created by your ilk in cyberspace. I want to hear your clarification about it, please.

I wonder how you get the idea about our fatty issue from, but surely we are not as chubby as you people. If you still disagree, would you like to bet? I am very surprised that you people manage to be obese, albeit your kind don’t know how to cook; I am so weak-kneed with admiration. Here is the extract from the news:

“Scotland is the second-fattest nation in the developed world, with only the United States having higher obesity levels, a report revealed yesterday.”

You can read more about this from here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2532694.ece

I am not being scornful about anybody; I am just expressing my opinion like you do. Is that a problem?
I thought you were born in such a civilised society, but how come you were not taught to respect cultural diversity. Does civilization mean “only your culture” then?

You cannot force us to have an agreeable perception of you, and vice versa.

C’mon! Let’s make it to 60 comments.

Where is my latest comment? It is not fair!

;o(

Why don’t you believe that I am Thai?

Hooray!

61 now.

Matt, You are “narak”.

Krop Khun Ka.

Anyway, it’s a good story, whether or not it’s true.

You can say whatever you like; that’s your opinion, mate, but where the evidence is.

“Don’t you remember the case of Ian Huntly, a British paedophile who killed the little Holly and Jessica? The sicko did not use anybody to trick the girls; he did it himself.”

“It seems to me that the behaviour of your ilk tends to be much more sexually perverted than us. I wonder why? It is hard for me to comprehend this issue. Probably, it could be a genetic disorder of that individual person. Thank God that paedophilia is not a communicable disease; otherwise these mentally unwell people could pass it on to us.

If you are not content with the fact that the Thai authorities are trying to combat this cancer of foreign paedophiles, maybe you should launch a complaint to stop the Thais from tackling this issue; or else you might be elated to let these freaks carry on screwing our kids.

Alternatively, you could just do research, with a fair and balanced mind, about the number of local and foreign paedophiles in the country. You might find some interesting facts.”

“Medical research or scientific evidence might not support my claims of your ilk of being extreme sexual perverts, but the internet could help you unlock the myth of this story. Why are there so many sexually obscene, crude, vulgar materials created and posted by Caucasian men on the web? I am just very curious and saddened. Maybe, you should search “child porn, Scat, fisting, BDSM and other weird stuff on the web. Not only will your findings surprise you, it also will shock you, but I am sure you may enjoy these things; it is just the way you people do things sexually.”

On the matter of obesity, I stand by the statement I made earlier - you people are genetically fat. It is not your fault; you were just born that way.

Who Let The little piggy’s Out! oui oui oui!

Thais are surely lazy, but also happy. They don’t think they are better than anybody else either. That’s why they mind their own business, unlike somebody who cannot stop sticking his snoot into other people’s business.

Maybe, I should stop winding him up now, otherwise he might find an excuse to invade Thailand. That’s what his ancestor often did in the past.

Recently, where is the weapon of mass destrcution.! I see only a beach whale here!

;o)

Are we really going to make it to 70 comments? I am bored.

This is one of the cases I was talking about. Sure am glad there aren’t any perverted paedophile Thais eh?

I don’t know, sometimes this Sooksiam character is too easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel. I know it is mean of me but there is a level of stupidity which is offensive and almost demands a demolition job. Check these out from her most recent cloddish post:

Para 1: what is a good story Sooksiam? You appear to be rambling. Even in the 1st para.

para 2: ‘where the evidence is’? What does that mean? What evidence are you muttering about? Is that really good English anyway? What does it all mean?

Para 3: So Ian Huntley tricked the girl himself? OK. And this proves that Thais don”t pimp their daughters (and other people’s daughhters) how? Jut an irrelevant diversion to distract attention from the core point you don’t seem to like.

Para 4: Yes, I believe you do find it difficult to comprehend. I believe you probably find many things difficult to comprehend. Are you really saying that you think Thai paedophiles are the victims of some kind of infection from wicked foreigners? Interesting line of thought. I suppose evidence is out of the question? Thought so.

Para 5: You state the factoid that Thai authorities are trying to stamp out paedophilia? I see. Forgive me for this, but they don’t actually seem to be doing a very good job do they? Odd how Thais never seem to be able to make a good job of anything.

Para 6: You carefully craft the paragraph to imply there is some evidence there to be discovered, and that you know what it is. Obviously a lie since by definition there are no more than estimates of the number of foreign paedophiles in any society, and Thais are notoriously unable to cope with any kind of government action that involves anything more than talking, wishful thinking and some pretty furious mutual mental masturbation. What evidence Sooksiam? What ‘research’. Do tell…

Para 7: I see. So medical science and scientific evidence don’t support what you say but you aren’t going to stop saying it anyway - right? I think I made a mistake earlier. I think you may indeed be Thai. You would certainly qualify to be one on the basis of observable intelligence. You also seem very fluent in the language of perversion Sooksiam. Why is that?

Para 8: ‘genetically fat’? I see. What is the ‘fat’ gene Sooksiam? I think you will find nutritionists concur that most obesity is due to the consumption of too much food and is not genetic. Now stupidity on the other hand - that *may* be genetic.

Para 9: Not sure what that means, could you explain?

Para 10: Yep. Thais are certainly lazy and are very happy to remain lazy. They are also incompetent and mostly stupid, for which their culture and education system must claim most of the responsibility. But you are quite wrong about not considering themselves to be better than foreigners, Thais certainly consider themselves culturally, morally (laugh) and genetically better than other races. Have you never heard of a Thai hating Indians for being Indian? Or Afro-caribbeans for being - well, black? Or indeed, foreigners for being, well, foreign? How are things in your delightful but somewhat remote and odd little world Sooksiam?

Paras 11,12 and 13: Not sure I can make head or tail of this Sooksiam. Invasion? Ancestors? Weapons of mass destruction? Whales? May I please half half a pound of whatever it is that you are smoking? In any event, I think you will find that every time Thailand has been invaded, the Thais got their asses roundly kicked. Having kicked Thai asses from breakfast to bedtime, the invaders went off home again; something Thais get all proud and puffed up about. What they should really ask is why the invaders didn’t find any worthwhile reason to stay. Perhaps the prospect of living among Thais with bleeding noses and bandages on their bottoms was just too awful.

Final para: A small spelling error. I think you will find it is spelt B-O-R-I-N-G.

*yawn* Like I said. Too easy. Over and out from me on this thread, I never did like filibusters.

Well I was going to leave it but then you came up with the above remarkable post. I am deeply sorry that you feel so empty, so futile and so bereft of the good things in life that you need to trawl the internet for the soft underbelly of civilisation at the margins.

I bow unreservedly to your obviously greater knowledge (and perhaps experience) of the preverse and deviant, this is a part of life (a bit like good old Thai Patpong I suppose) that does not have quite the fascination for me as it appears to have for you. I suspect you were probably abused yourself, perhaps by one of those wicked farang you seem to have such a phobia about. If I am right, you can contact me privately, I know of several therapists who could probably make you feel better, more… whole. More… clean.

I don’t know (and could probably never know) what’s been going on inside your head Sooksiam. Perhaps you need to do some introspection. Perhaps you need to look deep down inside yourself… explore the very essence of who you are… and I don’t know if you’ll notice… just how empty you are, deep inside yourself… so alone, so lonely. And when you explore that place, you only find memories of your failures, frustrations and missed dreams… To the point where you ask yourself… this is it? This is what I’ve been living for? What an empty life! These things you do, like searching so hard for porn and deviance on the internet… your life in general… probably amuse you for a little while, but they obviously fail to address that deep longing inside you… that deep, painful emptiness you remember so very well. That’s why you need to find someone to hurt. To go against. To make you feel better about your prurient interest in the degradation of others, to always find someone else to blame for the wreckage you feel inside.

And now, I must be gone, to attend to the many details of my successful and fulfilling life. Have a nice day Sooksiam, I know how much you need… at least one… nice day.

Oh, and another thing. Foreign countries haven’t been trying to invade you for centuries, no one ever thought it worthwhile. I think what you mean is that foreign countries have on occasion given you a good kicking to keep you (if you’re Thai) in check every now and then and keep avenues of commerce open.

The Burmese have defended themselves on more occasions than they have attacked, but then Thais don’t like to talk about that ugly truth. And there Khmyers (spelling?) played up a bit after you stole their country.

In fact the only country to want to steal your country was your dear friends the Japanese, with whom you allied with during WWII (until you realised that they were no longer winning and quickly tried to jump ship).

But if you’re Thai then I guess this is all just phooey to you as you will have been “told” (not taught) that Thailand is perfect in every way and is always the victim and never put a foot wrong etc etc etc

Why is masturbation abuse? Does masturbation leave long term damage? Get a good dictionary and an up to date thesaurus.
Seeing as how you are responding to things I haven’t said I can’t be arsed to respond to most of what you have written. Clearly you have too much time on your hands.
On the subject of assumptions you are making a few too, like assuming that I am living in that dump of a country. I am not. I was posted there for work for several years and couldn’t wait to get out, never to return. You might have noticed on your trips abroad, if you had your eyes open, that in many parts of the world people are free to think and talk as they wish. Understandably Thais are not allowed this freedom. But if I choose to “hate” (your word) Thailand and its people (I don’t)then that is my right.
You assume that I am from a country that invaded Iraq. OK, thanks for that, but maybe you are wrong.
You assume that I dislike “your” country because I couldn’t fit in some how, wrong. I just don’t like it, right! I can’t stand your culture and I never feel relaxed in a country where people are constantly trying to steal from you or sell you something like sex. And I don’t like the institutional racism that is endemic throughout Thailand.
Bullying!!! Wow, and you’re Thai? Just ask your less powerful neighbours about bullying (Laos, Burma, Cambodia). It’s in your culture to stamp on anyone smaller than you and push people around when they are in need of help. Along with China Thailand is the biggest reason why nothing gets done about Burma, as you guys are happy to keep a nation of slaves on the doorstep for cheap labour and exploitation.
Anyway, enough of this, life is too short to bicker with you. You think all foreign men are peedos and the women are fat (your words). And I think Thailand is a crock of shit with a crappy culture that is ruled by a monarch led military dictatorship. So there we go, we’ll never agree so lets agree to disagree. Vive la republique!!!

Bedwyr, I am curious about your background. Like Sooksiam, you frequently come up with interesting intellectual tidbits but really manage to disappointment me on other occasions. Why does Thailand produce people who are “essentially dirty, incompetent, stupid and amoral”? BECAUSE THEIR F*CKIN’ POOR, DUDE!!! You think everyone here consciously chooses to live in a cess pool? You think they choose to be incompetent and stupid? Let’s face it, man, Thailand is a poor country. Ignorance is a result of lack of education, by definition. Not everyone is stupid here, but the country as a whole is simply poor. That is that.

I was born in the USA, and we have a lot more dirty stupid people than Thailand (if you want to make such a gross judgment). But, then again, we have more people.

Actually, Thais are some of the cleverest people I have ever seen. They make some of the most ingenious creations from our trash and hand-me-downs. I have seen street vendors make barbecue grill blowers from old vehicle radiator fans. I have seen vehicle reflectors made from old computer CD-Rs and compact discs. I have seen mopeds converted into “work trucks”, and toilet paper passed as napkins. You may scoff at it as jerry-rigging, but, for as poor as Thailand is, I look at it as ingenious improvisation.

As for producing “amoral” people, I assume you mean they lack morals. I do not think the Thais lack morals. I think their morals are just different from yours, whatever those morals may be. When I first got here, I used to get angry at all the blood-sucking touts, beggars, etc. that used to bother me because I am white and round-eyed. Just like the mosquitoes that bite me here every night, they can spot me even in the dark, and never let up. But walk a mile in their shoes, and maybe you would realize you would do the same if you only earned a few dollars a day.

This morning I heard on the news a boy was sent to jail for petty theft, because his poor mother upcountry continued to nag him for money. I don’t think trying to help your mother is “amoral” by any standards. If he had a Harvard degree and $250k/year job and was engaged in thievery, okay maybe you could call him amoral. But the guy has nothing in a country that has little, so what can he do? This kind of thing goes on all the time here. At least when the thieves steal from homes they leave some sort of religious gift/icon to apologize to the owners. Ridiculous? Yes, maybe to us Westerners but such a gesture indicates to me at least a modicum of morality, even for a thief.

I think it is useless to harp on the monarchy. Monarchs have existed worldwide for centuries. If it works, why break it? Maybe you should learn at little bit about it before start talking trash? Why make fun of people who are proud to live in the country? If they want to wear yellow shirts on Monday what’s it to you?

Every country has their nationalist tendencies. As an American, I prefer to look inward rather than criticize Thailand. I live by the idea that we play the same game but in a different ballpark. To criticize Thailand is only criticizing their specific manifestations of our human tendencies. Thailand has the same problems America does ( or anywhere else humankind exists ). America has prostitution, gambling, corruption, pedophiles, morality issues, etc. We have false ideas about our national identity. One thing that really gets me miffed is all this negative talk about the Thai monarchy when, in fact, it is more respected than any European royal family could ever hope to accomplish. Now, much of it may be by royal decree but that’s how royalty works.

Even in America, we get caught up with whining about the Constitution, Founding Fathers, blah blah. The Constitution is just a paper. Action over words, in my book. And the Founding Fathers that wrote it are not gods, the are fallible humans just like the rest of us.

And “the good old days” are no more holy or sacred than “nowadays”. People were pissing and moaning over the same bullshit we are today.

Same game, different ballpark.