Betong : A Pathway to Stability

Abstract

     The main purpose of this research is to analyze the factors that made Betong, a border economic district, able to survive despite the violent situation in Thailand’s three southern border provinces. The researcher studied the history and the present of Betong and surrounding areas by examining secondary data, doing ethnography, and indepth interviews.

     The results of the research indicated that the presence of two different ethnic groups together with a codependent relationship in the history of Betong is an important factor that helps strengthen Betong. In the past, Muslims as the native population in Betong have lived with the Chinese population who emigrated from China; the number of Muslim and Chinese people has become equal. These group have also helped each other. Because Betong is landlocked and surrounded by overgrown forest, and is far away from the capital government, transportation and communication both within the community and between Betong and other
communities has been difficult. Betong, in the past, was just a small community on a mountain, cut off from other towns. It was far from civilization and faced unrest fomented by the Communist Party of Malaya. The people of Betong were forced by the topography to communicate and help each other. The communication between the Muslim and Chinese groups led to people in Betong learning a process of exchanging and adjusting to living together. This eventually produced a culture of codependent living among the native population in Betong. Without an appearance of anyone deriving from the old Melayu Patani royal family, it is less likely to see the act of planting and provoking the idea of seperating the land to Muslim in Betong comparing to Muslim in other areas. Although Betong has become a border economic district that attracts a lot of tourists from the other areas, and violence situation has begun to reach Betong, the relationship between two different ethnic groups is still a shield that makes the violence less likely to reach Betong compared to the other areas.