New govt means new Govt House

Burning issue

Piyanart Srivalo
piyanart@nationgroup.com March 15, 2012 1:00 am

After ruling the country for six months, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's office in the government complex has been renovated in a project initiated by her acting secretary-general Thawat Boonfueng.

In addition, the Government House shrine will be moved on Saturday from the eastern wall off Phitsanulok Road to stand in the front yard, on the right side of the Thai Khu Fah building. The two cannons in the complex, which were previously facing each other, will now be put in front of the Thai Khu Fah building, facing outward.

An official from the Building and Grounds Division in Government House said the shrine was being located to an area that is believed to be the coolest and calmest spot in the compound.

"Shrines should be placed in a cool and airy place to bring peace and serenity. Cannons should not be facing because it's like we're firing at each other," the official, who asked not to be named, said.

Yet, once again, government officials are denying that these changes have anything to do with the art of feng shui.

"It has nothing to do with an omen or the need to boost the government's or the premier's clout," Thawat said.

Of course, nobody believes this.

Over the past decade, former prime ministers - Thaksin Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva - have had feng shui adjustments made to Government House. Now, it has become a tradition for politicians - every time a new prime minister comes in, he or she will have to adjust the complex to boost their luck and make them stronger.

In Thaksin's reign, the shrine was moved because an official in charge of rituals did not deem the location "appropriate".

In 2003, Thaksin's government renovated the landscape to welcome an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation team. In this renovation, closed fences were replaced with semi-open ones.

Then, during Abhisit's reign, the premier's secretary-general Korbsak Sabhavasu ordered another renovation of the landscape, especially since the first round received a lot of negative feedback. In the first round, many trees, especially palm trees, were planted in front of the Thai Khu Fah and Santi Maitree buildings.

However, this time, feng shui expert Mas Kehastham is warning Yingluck's government to not change, fix, move or build anything in Government House.

"This year is bad for the complex, and if anything is done, bad things will happen to those whose stars are crossed," he warned.

He added that since this was the Year of the Water Dragon, Yingluck's and Thaksin's stars were drowning. This means, the prime minister may be ousted and Thaksin may not be able to return to Thailand this year.

"I urge her to stop any renovations or violence might break out. The premier will not be able to stay in this position any longer than November or December," he said.

Of course, the few who are not superstitious may ignore this warning, though some might stop and think again. After all, Mas did warn Abhisit's government to not readjust the feng shui of Government House, and once the renovations were done, the government started looking unstable and Abhisit ended up having to dissolve the House before his term was completed.

Loyluen Boonnak, former PM's deputy secretary, who is familiar with official rites at Government House, was once heard saying that anybody who touched or moved the shrine in the complex end up losing their position.

Perhaps we should all pay attention to that old Thai saying: Don't insult what you don't understand.