Thousands of Thai civil servants, police, and teachers are trained in community service and loyal to the King at military barracks.

The training course, called "Volunteer Spirit 904", was named after the security code of King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), established last year and lasted from 15 days to 6 weeks. The subject of the course has expanded from royal officials, soldiers, police officers and civil servants to lecturers and university students.

According to information on the Royal Thai website, the goal of the 904 course is to create a team of influential people to "develop and defend the country, as well as train people loyal to manufacturing." monarchy level ".

Theerapat Prayurasiddhi, permanent secretary of the Thai Prime Minister's Office, is responsible for coordinating the 904 courses. He said about 3,000 people have completed the program since March 2018, adding that they are "completely voluntary "sign up.

"The king has a royal policy to create solidarity among the people. This will bring them happiness and a safe country," Theerapat said.

The 904 course is affiliated with the royal-sponsored Volunteer Spirit Network, which includes 6 million volunteers. The training was managed by royal officials and military officers, sources familiar with the course said.

The training program was held at the Bangkok Capital Headquarters of the First Infantry Regiment, whose unit was recently transferred under the King's personal command.

Sources recounted that they had to get up at 5 am to do light exercise, then line up to conduct military-style rituals, before attending royal history classes, as well as service. community.

"Discipline and some rules are in place," said Sumet Tantivejkul, 80, who teaches lessons about the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the father of King Vajiralongkorn. "Participants live together, eat and sleep together. Elderly people will stay with young people so that young people can learn from the experiences of older people and vice versa."

The respect for the monarchy has long been a part of traditional Thai culture. However, King Vajiralongkorn, whose life is associated with the military, is formalizing the issue on a wider scale than any monarch since the end of the authoritarian monarchy ended in Thailand in 1932.

"The reverence is built on the background of the past, but it became much clearer and more assertive during the reign of King Vajiralongkorn," said Joshua Kurlantzick, an expert at the advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations of the United States. , identify.

Those who graduated from the training course said that in addition to training for the community, one of the program's key lessons explaining that the monarchy is the optimal way to solve Thailand's problems, in the context of political divisions, the conservative faction loyalized to the military against supporters of populist parties.

Sinchai Chaojaroenrat, an independent scholar who wrote a book on Thai culture, described the 904 course as part of a "strategy of combining the monarchy with all government agencies".

Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932, but the king's status has never diminished. For some Thais, the king is a god who never makes mistakes. Analysts say that after his father's seven-year reign, King Vajiralongkorn appears to be asserting his personal power in many ways.

In July 2017, the military-appointed legislative assembly amended a law in 1936, giving the 67-year-old King full control of the Royal Asset Department (CPB), which Asset management estimates are worth more than 30 billion USD. Before that, CPB was under the management of Thailand Ministry of Finance.

Last month, King Vajiralongkorn also took over direct command of two military units in Bangkok, based on emergency provisions in the constitution. Since the King succeeded the throne in 2016, the palace has added 1,600 police to increase royal security.

Experts assess the 904 course, highlighting how King Vajiralongkorn asserted his will to the Thai government and society.

After completing the training course, the trainees will be recognized as "King Servants" and tasked with promoting the monarchy. Phunyawee Suwanleela, 38, is one of those people who are proud to be part of the show.

Suwanleela recently led the royal volunteer team to clean up the Temple of Dawn, the symbol of Bangkok, after it was first welcomed the portrait of the King.

"We are trained to spread the message to others, help them to be more aware and love the country like us," Phunyawee said.

Former Nattaporn Rathasilapin student said the graduates of the course were divided into groups of 30 and exchanged with each other through messaging apps to share the process of spreading their message. "Our team is assigned a target of reaching 8,900 people within a few months," the 34-year-old civil servant said.

However, a man hiding in his forties in the suburbs of Bangkok felt the show had some too rigid aspects, though he was out of loyalty to the royal family. For example, he must prove that his message has influenced the students.

"There must be a few photos showing our audience crying out of gratitude to the King," he explained, adding that students from the 904 course were encouraged to speak in public to share their knowledge. . "We are forced to find people who are inspired to tears."