Democracy to heritage: Activist Netiwit hailed for ‘Last Breath of Sam Yan’

Former student activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, renowned for his outspoken protests against the Thai establishment, is back in the media spotlight as an award-winning filmmaker.

“The Last Breath of Sam Yan”, which Netiwit co-produced and appeared in, earned the nod for “Best Documentary Film” at the 2023 Suphannahong Awards, presented by the National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Associations last Monday (September 30).

The 75-minute-long film tells the story of a campaign by students and locals to save a century-old Chinese shrine from demolition in Bangkok’s Sam Yan neighbourhood.

The shrine to Mazu – a Chinese sea goddess known as “Chao Mae Thapthim” in Thai – is located on a Sam Yan plot owned by Chulalongkorn University.

Affectionately known as “Ah Ma”, or grandmother in the Teochew Chinese dialect, the shrine’s goddess is popular with people seeking spiritual support, especially students facing exams or hunting for jobs.

150 years of worship

The original shrine was built around 150 years ago during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), after whom Thailand’s first university, founded in 1917, is named.

The shrine was rebuilt in 1970 following a fire that spared the deity’s statue.

In May 2020, Property Management of Chulalongkorn University (PMCU) ordered the Chinese-Thai family that has tended the shrine for generations to vacate the premises and make way for the construction of a condominium project.

The family refused and a campaign to save the shrine quickly gained support from locals and university students. PMCU responded by suing the family for 4.6 billion baht in damages.

The shrine now stands in the middle of a construction site, its fate hanging on the outcome of the ongoing legal battle.

In August last year, the Bangkok South Civil Court ruled in favour of PMCU’s push to demolish the shrine, but an appeal was filed by its caretakers.

Viral campaign

The fight to save the Chinese temple snowballed into an online campaign, eventually inspiring a group of Chulalongkorn students to document the effort to protect what they viewed as a precious heritage landmark in modern Bangkok.

“The Last Breath of Sam Yan” was directed and scripted by Prempapat Plittapolkranpim and co-produced by Netiwit and Settanant Thanakitkoses while the pair were Chulalongkorn students. It was released last year in Thai theatres and on Netflix.

The documentary’s production team comprised mainly communications students from Chulalongkorn and Bangkok universities, while Netiwit said funding came from book sales.

He responded to the award by calling on Chulalongkorn University’s management to cease efforts to demolish the shrine and “destroy local community culture”.

The 28-year-old activist also expressed gratitude to everyone who has participated in the fight to save the landmark.

He also conveyed his hope for a stronger civil society to protect local communities around Chulalongkorn University and across the country.

Conscientious objector

Born on September 10, 1996, Netiwit graduated from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science this year.

His official website (https://netiwit.com/) describes him as a “conscientious objector for democracy, human rights, and the Milk Tea Alliance”, the latter referring to a coalition of young Asian pro-democracy and human rights activists centred on Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Netiwit launched into activism while he was still at school. In 2012, he co-founded the Thailand Education Revolution Alliance (TERA), which campaigned for liberal reform of the Thai educational system.

A year later, he co-founded a group called Education for Liberation of Siam, which served as a platform for student activism against corruption in the educational system.

He went on to create waves during his time at Chulalongkorn, a bastion of the Thai establishment.

While still a freshman in 2017, he was removed as head of the Student Council as punishment for “inappropriate behaviour” in leading a walkout by eight students during an oath-taking ceremony before a statue of King Rama V.

He was restored as council president a year later after a successful appeal at the Administrative Court.

In 2022, university executives removed him from the post again over the student union’s controversial decision to broadcast speeches by three lese majeste suspects during an online orientation ceremony for new students in July 2021.

The executives called the broadcast a “gross violation” of ethics.

In 2022, Netiwit also ordained as a monk at a Buddhist temple in Nakhon Pathom province, allowing him to postpone his mandatory military service.

He left the monkhood last year to continue his campaign against conscription, explaining that he wanted to prevent any allegations he was exploiting religion to avoid military service.