Thousands Celebrate Thai King’s Birthday

Several thousand people turned out Sunday to celebrate the birthday of the king of Thailand at the Valley’s Wat Thai of Los Angeles.

The grounds of the Buddhist temple in North Hollywood, a religious and cultural center for the Valley’s Thai population, were crowded with local Thais eager to wish King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the beloved 72-year-old ruler of Thailand, long life and prosperity.

The throng included saffron-robed Buddhist monks and the occasional Thai American rebel sporting a Mohawk hairdo. Many of the women wore the elegant fitted silk jacket and long straight skirt in green or fuchsia that Thai women don for special occasions.

“Basically, I’m here to give respect to the king, to let him know there’s a lot of people out in California and the United States who still love him,” said Simon Srisui, 26, of Van Nuys. With Srisui was his brother Walter Sarnoi, 13, of Glendale. “I’m here to respect my culture,” he said.

Born Dec. 5, 1927, Bhumibol is admired in ways that other world leaders--including President Clinton, a fellow saxophone player--can only dream of.

“We love the king, he’s wonderful” was the mantra of the daylong celebration, which began with a morning prayer for the monarch’s continued well-being and was scheduled to end with the distribution of any leftover food, including whole roast suckling pig, to the Valley’s homeless.

A ruler whose power is limited by the constitution of Thailand, Bhumibol assumed the throne 53 years ago, making him the world’s longest-reigning monarch.

Pimolmas Pewnual, a real estate agent who lives in the Hollywood Hills, saw no paradox in the Thai American community’s fondness for a faraway king.

An American citizen, like many of the other participants, she said: “In most countries, the monarchy is going down. Ours is the only one where the monarchy is going up. He’s the best king ever.”

Part of Bhumibol’s appeal, she said, is “he’s very democratic himself.”

Many of the celebrants described the monarch, who was born in Massachusetts where his father was studying medicine at Harvard, as a “working king,” who cares less about royal privilege than about the welfare of his people.

Several party-goers, including temple spokesman Sumana Barua, said the king had made important reforms in Thailand. The monk singled out Bhumibol’s program to wean the hill people of the north from growing opium poppies by giving them economic incentives to cultivate legal, alternative crops, such as apples.

The king is not just the leader of his nation, many said; he is a father figure.

According to Srisui, the king’s love and protection are extended even to less-fortunate Thais, including those born out of wedlock. They understand, Srisui said, “even though you don’t know who your father is, you always have a father. If you need something, all you have to do is ask.”

Among those honoring the king were Marc and William Buacharern of North Hollywood. Sons of a Thai father and a Filipina mother, they said they had sometimes had a tough time in high school because of the tendency of both the Thai and Filipino kids to stick together.

Instead of choosing one ethnic affiliation over the other, 18-year-old Marc said, “I stuck with the jocks because I was a football player.”

Asked if golfer Tiger Woods, America’s most famous part-Thai, was a hero for the community, they joked: “When he wins.”

He is indeed a role model, they said, as evidenced by the large number of young Thais on local golf courses.

The celebration included traditional Thai dance and free food to anyone who came. Barua explained that doing good deeds accrues merit for the doer and that the merit accumulated on the king’s birthday was being transferred to the king “for his prosperity and long life.”

Among the booths at the festival was one encouraging Thai Americans, including an estimated 100,000 in greater Los Angeles, to come forward to be counted in the 2000 census.

“That’s good,” said 22-year-old William Buacharern, who is pursuing Asian American studies and social anthropology at UCLA. “Thais are very underrepresented in social programs.”