BANGKOK — The prolonged troubles in the Thai economy have reduced the standing of hundreds of the country’s elite from the vaunted rank of high-so to the less attractive medium-so. As families see their disproportionate wealth dissipate to more proportionate levels, with it go the entitlements and benefits that are the recognized rights of the upper class. For many, the gilded ride of luxury and ease has become a little rougher.
The effects of the status reductions are widespread. Families that formerly drove large European automobiles are now driving Japanese models. Society figures who once prominently displayed iPhones have been seen with Samsung handsets. Security guards move a little slower than usual to open the gates to expensive homes. Many of the Prada handbags seen clutched in the manicured hands of women shopping on Soi Thonglor are said to be fake, and there are reports of individuals previously known for satisfactory English skills who have been confusing prepositions and skipping definite and indefinite articles altogether.
Those who have suffered the loss of hi-so status say adjusting to life in the middle stratum of Thai society has been difficult. Many have relied on privilege and enormous affluence to survive, and now find themselves adrift in an unfamiliar and unkind world.
Communications executive Ruengros Thammasen said the reduction has cost him a promotion. After his family’s rice trading business closed last fall, Ruengros said he was unfairly passed over for a senior vice president position at a state-run corporation in favor of a colleague whose high status was achieved rather than ascribed. “What kind of society is it when somebody gets a promotion just because he has better qualifications and more experience?” Ruengros, 48, asked.
To get by, Ruengros said he has been forced to do some belt tightening at home. Rather than send his daughter to a private school in the U.K., he has been considering schools in the U.S., Australia, “and if things get really bad, we might even look at Canada,” he said. His wife’s annual cosmetic surgery holiday in Japan has been canceled and he has been making do with the less desirable hostesses at the massage parlor he frequents.
After fatally shooting a police officer in a crowded nightclub last month, 27-year-old Yongchai Siriyuttaporn was surprised when he was asked to report to a police station for questioning. Siriyuttaporn’s father, an influential figure in the Thonburi community, has seen his net worth plunge over 20 percent in the last year.
“I was counting on my surname to ensure that I wouldn’t have to face any consequences for what I do, but now they’re saying I might have to be held accountable for my actions,” Yongchai said. “It’s not fair.”
Sanita Krittiwachabum, a 24-year-old public relations executive, said life as a medium-so has been difficult. She first noticed the changes around the time her family’s real estate company was delisted from the Thai stock exchange. Since then her boyfriend has broken up with her and friends have stopped calling.
“The most confusing thing is trying to figure out who I should wai,” Sanita said. “I’m not accustomed to showing deference, and because there’s so much fluctuation in the system some days I’m not sure whose social position is higher than mine.”
In addition, despite rigorous application of a variety of creams and lotions, Sanita has watched in frustration as her once fair skin has gradually darkened several shades, a natural result of reduced status. She also said she has noticed that her mother’s tall stack of styled hair has slightly deflated.
