BANGKOK – Suthep Thaugsuban, secretary-general of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) took a break from his relentless anti-government campaign yesterday to undergo a preventive medical procedure to re-whiten his skin.
Citing “the need to maintain the proper image at all times,” the PDRC made the decision on Thursday to get Suthep out of the sunlight and into a clinic where he could have his entire body coated in the finest skin-whitening creams and chemicals available in Thailand.
“It was a hard decision, with the election just a few days away,” said PDRC leader Chumpon Julasai, “but we decided that in the long run, it was better to take a day off of the campaign than to risk our movement’s image with an insufficiently white-skinned spokesman.”
Suthep, who has walked over 20 kilometers in the last 30 days as part of numerous PDRC marches throughout the city, reportedly accepted the recommendation of his colleagues “reluctantly.” According to reports, he only submitted when fellow PDRC leader Issara Somchai held up a mirror to Suthep’s face.
“Once he saw that he was as dark as an uneducated Isaan farmer, he realized that he was risking losing everything we’d fought for,” explained Issara.
PDRC insiders have blamed the long marches and clear sunny weather, exacerbated by Suthep’s failure to use sunblock, for the leader’s gradual darkening to unacceptable levels. Although there have been no reported divisions within the PDRC camp on Suthep’s fitness to lead the anti-Thaksin, anti-election movement, some of the leaders had begun to notice jokes on Twitter regarding Suthep’s appearance.
“The night he stood next to (Singha heiress) Chitpas (Bhirombhakdi), we had to deal with a thousand ‘beauty and the beast’ jokes, as well as numerous Tweets wondering whether the spotlight on Suthep needed a new bulb. It was very embarrassing.”
Suthep left the main Rajprasong stage at 8pm Thursday, telling everyone assembled that he would “return soon, better and brighter than ever.” He was rushed to Bangkok General Hospital, where a team of whitening skincare specialists began an intensive 24-hour treatment that included immersing Suthep into a vat of Citra Pearly White up to his eyebrows.
Although the procedure was intended to be secret, news of the treatment leaked out and both Twitter and Facebook were soon flooded with “get-white-soon” messages from the PDRC faithful.
“Bless you, lung Suthep, may you come out as pure white as my beloved Abhisit,” said one supporter on her Facebook page.
Another commented “I hope the darkness is eliminated from your skin the way Thaksin will be eliminated by our righteous movement.”
“Our dear leader shall soon return to us, cleansed like our democracy, white as the stripe on our flag, and as beautiful as a butterfly of pure light.”
Although the PDRC leadership insists that it represents all Thai people, its support base of wealthy urbanites, middle-class professionals, and traditionalist royalists is believed to be highly intolerant of direct sunlight and people with dark skin, as evidenced by the nearly complete absence of protesters from the protest sites in daylight hours, as well as the tendency among protesters to post Instagram selfies using the ultra-brightening “Amaro” and “Valencia” filters.
Additionally, protesters’ signage and Facebook comments referring to government supporters and pro-election Thais as “buffaloes” and “dirty-skinned rats” has created an unspoken expectation among the movement that its leaders uphold the proper aesthetic.
Sathit denied that either the whitening procedure or any of his comments constituted any kind of racism or bigotry.
“We are all Thais, so how can we be racist?” he asked. Addressing the reporter, he added: “You are a farang, so you cannot understand.”
