It was yet another passing storm in Thailand's overflowing teacup. The overnight sensation of 19-year-old rapper Danupha "Milli" Khanatheerakul at the recent Coachella Music Festival in the United States has shaken Thailand to its core foundations and revealed much that is still right and all that is wrong with this country. At issue are the ramifications from her global showcase of Thailand's sticky rice and ripe mango on the Coachella stage in view of her talent and political standing against the local conservative establishment.
To be sure, Milli shot to international fame well before her famous sticky rice and mango performance. As a high schooler, she had already won a clutch of accolades, including as a "rising star" at the 2020 KAZZ Awards, the 2020 Rap Is Now Awards, and "Best New Asian Artist" at the Mnet Asian Music Awards 2020. Having attended a non-pedigree high school in the northern Bangkok outskirts of Nonthaburi, Milli was self-taught and captivated widening audiences at home and abroad all on her own.
Yet her notoriety prior to the sticky rice and mango exploit was to have incurred the ire of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who saw to it that she was legally prosecuted and fined 2,000 baht back in July 2021 for criticising the government regarding its vaccine management.
At that time, the Prayut government was roundly deplored for the scarcity of relatively efficacious and sought-after mRNA jabs while relying on Chinese varieties with dubious efficacy. The prime minister chose to go after the then-18-year-old Milli just because she, among countless other Thais, thought the government had been incompetent.
But now that Milli has made Thailand famous because she ate the country's signature sticky rice and sweet mango in front of millions of people worldwide, Gen Prayut has backtracked, saying he was wrong about Milli. Along with the whole of officialdom, Gen Prayut is touting Milli's sticky rice and mango feat as Thailand's soft power, although he initially called it software before correcting himself. Now the Thai authorities even want to register the Thai traditional dessert as Unesco cultural heritage. Such is this government's superficiality and opportunism.
In fact, what Milli has demonstrated is the staying power of Thailand's youth. She has been unfazed by and defiant of the Prayut government. Despite being fined and reprimanded, her views have not changed. In her rap song at Coachella, Milli's punchline was that Thailand's people and food are good but its government is "rotten", whereby the global trumps the local. Now Milli is so celebrated internationally, local authorities are deterred from harassing her because of the potential international disgrace.
Milli's international fame and influence have given her more space for political expression and dissent. As another example, one line in her song ridiculed Thailand's outdated rail network by saying it has been around since King Rama 5th for 120 years. Without the cover of international fame, such an observation about this country's endemic lack of progress and development would have almost certainly landed the young rapper in legal trouble. Yet Milli has not been slapped with a lese majeste charge, but has instead been toasted for her elevation of Thailand in the eyes of the world.
Moreover, her youthful talent and independence of mind are symptomatic and emblematic of Thailand's new generations who are clamouring for a country with a better future. Milli's age and political orientation are aligned with the youth-led protest movement that has been systematically suppressed over the past two years. These dissenting voices have not gone away but merely been kept under the control of the powers that be. Milli is a potent reminder of these voices from the future who are challenging old players and political structures from the past.
Much has been made about Thailand's soft power following Milli's stunt. But this is misplaced. Being the home of tasty sticky rice and mango and pad thai along with the popular Muay Thai martial art does not confer any kind of power to entice and persuade other countries to want to go along with or be like Thailand. Milli herself may represent more of Thailand's soft power than the sticky rice and mango she exhibited. Having soft power is having the ability to get other countries to do what we would like them to do without coercion and fuss.
Thailand's appeal and charm are associated with its food, hospitality, people and what might be called "visitability", being a kind of place outsiders would want to come back to time and again. The country's soft power attributes also feature its geographical location as the natural hub of Southeast Asia, its critical mass of a 70-million market, its cordial relations with all major powers, and its resilience and resourcefulness.
Milli is a walking showcase that Thailand has got talent. There are others like her, such as film director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who are less publicised at home than abroad because their artistic projects are critical of established centres of power. To let talent shine, this country needs an open space for expression and experimentation.
The Milli phenomenon is an implicit slap to the prime minister's earlier harassment of her. He has done the same to many other young Thais who want to have a say. Milli got away with it because her international acclaim became her protection.
As they become increasingly insecure at the prospect of unavoidable change and demands for progress, Thailand's power holders crave international recognition but face local constraints of repression. This country has a lot more to offer to the outside world but doing so entails the kind of basic rights and freedoms that are not allowed at home.
Until this situation changes, much of Thailand's talent beyond Milli and Apichatpong will be kept down and below their full potential.
