Getting to know PerMAS
Except for security officials, barely anyone outside the restive Deep South know about PerMAS which stands for Persekutuan MahasiswaAnakmudadanSiswaPatani or the Federation of Students and Youths of Patani.
It is undeniable that in the psychological warfare being waged in the region to win the hearts and minds of the local people, PerMAS or the student movement has been actively involved as a key player. Its occasional public calls for justice for some affected people and for freedom are some of the activities staged by the movement.
PerMAS has become the subject of close scrutiny by security officials about two years ago when the movement launched the Bicara Patani forum to provide a channel for the local people to discuss all aspects about the southern unrest problem, including the right to self-determination, special administrative zone for the region or independence.
Bicara Patani forum followed the Yingluck government’s decision to hold peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasionale with Malaysia acting as the facilitatator. However, the peace initiative have failed to make any headway after a few rounds of talks in Malaysia.
Thai security officials have viewed the student movement with serious suspicion it might be the political wing of the separatist groups probably the BRN working in tandem with the separatists who have been waging an armed struggle against the government as well as civilian targets.
The occasional appearances of messages in the "ghost" websites attacking the movement and certain leading figures of the movement are believed to be the work of security officials to discredit the movement.
Isra news agency recently had a chance for an interview with Suhaimee Dulasa, president of PerMAS and liberal arts student at Prince of Songkhla University in Hat Yai.
The followings are excerpts of the interview.
PerMAS has two missions as peacemaker and human rights defender and for that matter the student will serve as the mouthpiece of the southern people in the region, will provide political space for students and youths and to support other main organisations sharing the same cause.
"We have a vision for social equality and justice. Our main objective is to restore peace for Patani followed by our organization of student movement to increase their capacity and role and to open political space for self-determination to create international solidarity," said Suhaimee Dulasa.
PerMAS’s standpoint is that if the people are happy with peace, then the movement will be happy too. Which means the people are paramount.
PerMAS was created out of the students’ concern of the unrest situation which is likely to worsen mutual distrust in the society and the students’ realization that they should play a role at least to provide an alternative source of information about the region so that people will truly understand the situation and problem.
PerMAS is the successor of the Federation of the Students of Southern Border Provinces which was founded on March 8, 2008 following the merger of the Federation of Pattani Students, the Federation of Yala Students and the Federation of Songkhla Students. Its first secretary-general was Romsi Dorkor.
A general assembly of the Federation of the Students of Southern Border Provinces in April 2013 named Suhaimee the new president and changed the name of the federation to PerMAS.
Suhaimee said he felt the Thai government has not opened enough political space for the local people, citing the cases of some political activists who have been intimidated by the authorities.
Asked why PerMAS still view the government with suspicion, he said that it was the government which has viewed the student movement with suspicion first.
He said the movement has tried to open space for the local people to air their views and some of the opinions are very critical of the government "but it is still better than they taking up arms to kill anybody, isn’t it?".
He said that PerMAS has no fixed objective that the peace process will lead to independence, self-determination or the ideology of the juwae warriors. The movement, he stressed, is more serious about the peace process.
And so long as the people are happy with peace, PerMAS will be happy too, said Suhaimee.