Southern Thailand Malay Region

The modern provinces of Southern Thailand have a very Malay past. The backwater province of Satun and its northern neighbor, Trang used to be, in antiquity, part of the Kedah Sultanate until progressive Siamese campaigns claimed those territories.

The name of the province of Songkhla was a Thai corruption of the name Singgora, an old Malay tributary state which was once part of Langkasuka and then part of Nakhon Si Thammarat. This is where the largest city of the region is located, Hat Yai. No doubt a favourite destination for many Malaysians.

The old Malay state of Patani actually consisted of three modern day Thai provinces Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. In fact Malaysian state of Kelantan was a tributary of Patani, until the British pried them from Siamese claws.

These three provinces is the epicenter of the Southern Thailand insurgency. All three provinces have the highest proportions of Malay people of any province in Thailand. If autonomy or independence is granted, it is likely to be based on these three states.

Today, Songkhla is almost as Thai as Bangkok, a successful result of Thai assimilation policies. However some eastern districts are largely Malay populated and share the same aspirations of Patani.

The Satun Malays on the other hand, while small in number retain as much Malay culture as they can, but are not as inclined towards separatism or militancy as their Patani counterparts. A lot of Thai-Malay intermarriages reflect this.

Thailand would not give up Patani easily. Such a large acreage, with offshore oil to boot, would be a better target for Thai transmigration, if not for the insurgency.