The decline of Ayutthaya was the result of a policy of decentralisation and while kings were respected as the source of justice, they had no legislative power, wrote Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn during one of her Saturday morning tutorials with former prime minister of MR Krukrit Pramoj.

Her Royal Highness recently gave her notes to Chulalongkorn University Press and it has published them as a book under the scholarly title "Banthuek rueng karn-pokkrong khong Thai samai Ayutthaya lae ton-Rattanakosin", or "Chronicle of governance during the Ayutthaya and early Bangkok periods".

The Princess took the notes in 1973 when she was 18 and in her first year at the university's faculty of arts.

Her Majesty the Queen had asked Krukrit to give a special lecture every Saturday morning at Chitrlada Palace.

"Ajarn [Krukrit] wanted me to understand the ancient customs and traditions about politics, governance, laws, economy, society and culture," says the Princess in the book's affectionate forward. 

Kukrit also urged his royal student to read more primary sources, such as "Kotmai-tra-samduang", or the ancient law, and other historical documents.

The Saturday class ended after the October 1973 uprising because Kukrit became parliament president. The Princess, however, continued her studies of ancient governance and nowadays uses this knowledge as a teacher at the cadet school.

Her notes make it clear she was preoccupied with justice. From the Ayutthaya period to the reign of King Chulalongkorn there were many just laws, she noted. She also mentions a paper by John Crawfurd - a governor of Singapore and envoy to Siam in the early 1800s - that praises Siam for having a system of justice that surpassed other countries in Asia, as well as the expectations of westerners.

These just laws, however, were not widely disseminated because they were revered rather than debated, the Princess remarks.

"The laws were so highly respected that even the kings, who were respected as the source of all justice, couldn't amend them," she noted.

According to her notes, laws were used differently in the old days, especially when compared to the current politic climate.

"People wouldn't twist the laws to fight each other," the notes read. "It was a duty of the court to judge whether a defendant was guilty as claimed by plaintiff. If a defendant was innocent, the person would be acquitted. If a defendant was found guilty, the court would punish the person in accordance with the laws. In conclusion, we prove the truth before the laws."

Apart from laws and royal power, Her Royal Highness kept notes about the relationship between the government and the people. The ancient government was not responsible for the public interest, as its task was only to save the country, she wrote.

For example, King Narai's government refused to provide beds for a hospital built by Catholic priests. The government explained that it was not the royal tradition to do so.

Most of the government's budget went to support Buddhism and the royal court and pay pensions for members of the royal family and aristocrats.

Taxation was the main source of revenue, and citizens had to pay a portion of their income to the government. There was even a tax on prostitution that contributed to the the government's revenue.

The Princess also describes the origin of the tradition of making oaths before the Emerald Buddha.

The tradition began with tax collectors. After they collected taxes, they had to take an oath at the Grand Palace on the next Buddhist Sabbath that they would not take bribes from taxpayers.

Another point of interest highlighted by the Princess is that massage experts were part of royal medical services in the old days and accompanied kings and members of the royal family everywhere.

She told the publisher that she intended the book to be a memorial to Kukrit, who passed away in 1995.

Her Royal Highness said the book should be read cautiously because she took the notes long ago. "I may make some mistakes. Some parts may be unclear but ... I hope that some correct parts will be useful and will be sources for further research," she wrote.

Subhatra Bhuniprabhas

The Nation