Tambuling Batangas Publication May 08-14, 2019 Issue | Page 6

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May 8-14, 2019
Sa pagsisimula ng Ramadan, Duterte hinimok ang mga
Muslim na magdasal para sa pagkakaisa, kapayapaan
By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte photo courtesy of Philippine Information Agency
Thailand holds coronation of king
BANGKOK — Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn
was officially crowned Saturday amid the splendor of
the country’s Grand Palace, taking the central role in an
elaborate centuries-old royal ceremony that was last held
almost seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the
monarchy’s power after the October 2016 death at age
88 of Vajiralongkorn’s revered father, King Bhumibol
Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of
political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a
contentious election less than two months ago.

After completing the rites, Vajiralongkorn issued
his first royal command, which is supposed to set the tone
for his reign. It closely echoed the words of his father’s
first command.

“I will pursue, preserve and extend, and reign
with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the
people forever,” the king said, according to an unofficial
translation.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as
king for more than two years since assuming the throne.
On Saturday, he received his crown from the chief
Brahmin, a Hindu priest who played a guiding role in the
mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, which was televised
live across the nation on all channels.

The king, known as Rama X for being the 10th
monarch in the Chakri dynasty, then placed atop his head
the crown, which is more than 200 years old. The “Great
Crown of Victory” is 66 centimeters (26 inches) high,
weighs 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and is ornamented with
diamonds set in gold enamel. It was one of several pieces
of royal regalia presented in homage to his power.

The king began the coronation proceedings
wearing a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion
where he was briefly showered with water from several
holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water
was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The
rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took
place amid music from drums, conch shells and other
instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a
salute to the monarch.

A second rite, the Royal Anointment Ceremony,
completed the consecration portion of his coronation,
giving him the legitimacy of being a fully sovereign king.
Vajiralongkorn — having changed into gold-embroidered
royal vestments — was seated on an octagonal throne, with
the sides representing the cardinal points of the compass,
and a dignitary seated at each point. Each poured holy
water over the king’s hand, along with a ninth representing
the heavens.

That rite ended with the monarch being presented
with a nine-tiered white umbrella of state, symbolizing his
full consecration.

“This ceremony is significant to Thailand
because the monarchy … is a very important institution of
our country and is the soul of our nation,” said Naowarat
Buakluan, a civil servant. “If you ask why the ceremony is
being held this year when his majesty has already ascended
the throne, it’s because this is the right moment. Previously
we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.”
In this image made from video, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, center, sits on the throne as he is officially crowned king at the
Grand Palace, Saturday, May 4, 2019, in Bangkok, Thailand. Saturday began three days of elaborate centuries-old ceremonies for
the formal coronation of Vajiralongkorn, who has been on the throne for more than two years following the death of his father, King
Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 after seven decades on the throne. (Thai TV Pool via AP)
MANILA -- Hinimok ngayong araw ni Pangulong Rodrigo
Duterte ang Muslim community na taimtim na magdasal para sa
kapayapaan at pagkakaunawaan ng lahat sa pagsisimula ng banal
na buwan ng Ramadan.

Sa kanyang mensahe, hinikayat ni Duterte ang mga
Muslim na mag-alay ng dasal para sa pagkakaisa ng mga Pilipino.

“I trust that you will offer sincere prayers for peace,
solidarity and understanding among our people and all of
humanity,” aniya.

“This administration strives to unite all Filipinos,
regardless of religion, cultural tradition, and political belief.
Together, let us create the change that we have been aspiring
for--the social and moral transformation that is real and
meaningful and the lasting progress that will uplift the lives of
our kababayans,” dagdag pa niya.

Hinimok din ng Pangulo ang mga Muslim na gawing
oportunidad ang panahon ng Ramadan upang humingi ng
kapatawaran sa mga pagkakasala mula sa Maykapal at maging
mapagpasalamat sa lahat ng biyayang nakamit.

Nagsimula na ngayon ang Ramadan at ang pag-aayuno
ng mga Muslim sa lahat ng panig ng mundo upang isakatuparan
ang isa sa limang haligi ng Islam at gunitain ang unang paghayag
ng Quran kay Propetang Mohammed.

Habang panahon ng Ramadan, tumitigil sa pagkain,
pag-inom, paninigarilyo, at pakikipag-talik ang mga kapatid
nating Muslim mula madaling araw hanggang sa gabi.

Magtatapos ang banal na buwan ng Ramadan sa
paggunita ng Eid al-Fitr festival. (PIA)

Vajiralongkorn since taking the throne has
tightened control over royal institutions and acted to
increase his influence in his country’s administration. The
powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands
and make explicit his right to intervene in government
affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

He inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the
powerful army entrenched in government for five years
after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has
been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election
laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate,
Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the
government since then.

Vajiralongkorn, said prominent intellectual and
social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, “doesn’t like ceremony
himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants
it to be proper.” When his father was cremated in 2017,
Vajiralongkorn “insisted that everything had to be done
properly.”

“Likewise the coronation has to be done properly
and he doesn’t mind the expense, but it has to be done
properly,” Sulak said.

Vajiralongkorn presented his wife with the
traditional regalia of a Thai queen as one of his first acts
after being crowned. On Wednesday he appointed Suthida
Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya to be the country’s queen. His
father Bhumibol married his bride, Sirikit Kitiyakara, just
a week before his own coronation, at which he named her
his queen. Now 86 but ailing, she survives him.

After the 2 ½ hours of ceremonies ended,
Vajiralongkorn stepped from his throne, walked in front of
other royal family members and scattered in his path tiny
flowers of silver and gold, representing heavenly gifts for
them to collect.

Despite not being able to see the king in person,
civil servants in uniform and members of the public
wearing garb in the royal color of yellow gathered outside
the Grand Palace to pay their respects.
“I prepared to come here since a while ago, after I heard
the news (about the coronation) and the appointment of the
queen,” said Praiwan Thasai, a vendor.

Later Saturday, the king was to receive members
of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet,
among other senior officials, who will pay their respects.
Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The
day’s events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the
Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-
mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them
carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately
decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to
their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from
the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and
then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.