Fears for Thai king's health see stocks plunge
The sensitivity of discussing the King of Thailand’s health cannot really be overstated.
Not only is the world’s longest-serving living monarch revered by many Thais as a demi-god – the embodiment of the ultimate spiritual virtues of a Buddhist leader – but his image, and that of the rest of Royal Family, are protected by strictly enforced lese majeste laws.
These laws mean the utterance of anything, by anyone, that could be perceived as being critical, insulting or defamatory of King Bhumibol Adulyadej faces 15 years in prison.
So it is perhaps understandable that out of reverence for their king, and also the law, Thai analysts and commentators refrain from making public comment about the implications of the deteriorating health of the 88-year old.
But markets speak, and while they cannot describe with nuance or detail, they can at least give an indication of the unspoken nervousness in which Thailand finds itself.
Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej pictured in 2010
The country’s stock market index fell 2.9% on Monday – a bigger fall than anywhere else in Asia, and its lowest point in a month. The Thai baht currency also plunged to a two-month low against the dollar.
It followed the release on Sunday evening of the latest health bulletin from the Royal Household, the second this month, which described for the first time the King’s condition as “not stable”.
The statement said doctors had performed haemodialysis and replaced a tube used to drain fluid from his lung, when King Bhumibol’s blood pressure dropped.
The royal doctors were able to bring his blood pressure back to normal after giving further medication and the use of a ventilator.
“The medical team are watching his symptoms and giving treatments carefully because the overall symptoms of his sickness are still not stable,” the statement said.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been on the throne since 1946
An earlier health update had described the King as having kidney failure.
The seriousness of such statements from the Royal Household will not be lost on anyone.
King Bhumibol has been on the throne since 1946, and is seen by many in the country as a figure of stability who has existed above the fray of Thailand’s often turbulent political currents.
A constitutional monarch, he nonetheless became seen as offering a voice of reason during national crises on numerous occasions, particularly in the second half of the twentieth century.
Although he has spent much of the last 10 years in hospital, and his public appearances have reduced dramatically, he remains seen as the arbiter-in-chief with the ability to unify, in a country where deeply held divisions continue to simmer.
For this reason there is concern about the stability of the eventual succession by Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, who is not perceived to have yet won the same levels of respect as his father.
Bhumibol Adulyadej is the only king most Thais have ever known – his image is everywhere, an ever-present feature of life for more than 70 years.
The prospect of anything else, no matter how inevitable, is for many in Thailand, unspeakable.
Fears for Thai king"s health see stocks plunge
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