The Matubhum Party (

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

: พรรคมาตุภูมิ, Phak Matubhum, English: Motherland Party) is a minor

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, founded in November 2008. It mainly represents the interests of the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

minority in Thailand

Southern provinces The Southern Provinces ( ar, الأقاليم الجنوبية, Al-Aqalim al-Janubiyah, french: Provinces du Sud) or Moroccan Sahara ( ar, الصحراء المغربية, Assahra al-Maghribiya, french: Sahara marocain) are the terms used by th ...

. It is led by General

Sonthi Boonyaratglin Sonthi Boonyaratglin ( th, สนธิ บุญยรัตกลิน, , ; born 2 October 1946) is a Thai former Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army and former head of the Council for National Security, the military junta that ruled the ...

. Forerunner of the Matubhum Party was the Wahdah faction (Arab for ''Unity''), initially a cross-party group of Muslim parliamentarians led by

Wan Muhamad Noor Matha Wan Muhamad Noor Matha ( th, วันมูหะมัดนอร์ มะทา; ; ), also called Wan Nor, ( th, วันนอร์; ; ; born 11 May 1944 in Yala, Thailand) is a Thai politician. He is a founder of the Wahdah Group, a sm ...

. The majority of the Wahdah faction joined the

New Aspiration Party The New Aspiration Party (''Phak Khwam Wang Mai th, พรรคความหวังใหม่'') is a political party in Thailand. The party was established in 1990 by General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh after his retirement as Commander-In-Chie ...

and later the

Thai Rak Thai Party The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawat ...

of Prime Minister

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...

, to achieve improvements for the Muslim population in the South. After Thaksin's use of brutal force against the insurgency in the three southernmost provinces, the faction fell out with Thaksin and the Thai Rak Thai Party. After the 2006 Thai coup d'état, most Wahdah members joined the Neutral Democratic Party and were later spread among

Puea Pandin Party Puea Pandin Party ( th, พรรคเพื่อแผ่นดิน) is a Thai political party founded on September 11, 2007, by more than 200 politicians. Its most notable members included Thaksin's former foreign minister Surakiart Sathir ...

, Ratsadon Party, and

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PTP; th, พรรคเพื่อไทย, lit=For Thais Party, , ) is the third incarnation of a Thai political party founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 Septemb ...

. In November 2008, the Muslim politicians formed the Matubhum Party. The Muslim general

, from 2005 to 2007 Commander-in-Chief of the Army, leader of the 2006 coup d'état, and chairman of the

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

, joined the party in November 2009, and immediately became

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

. Sonthi oriented the party on neutrality between " Red Shirts" and " Yellow Shirts" and reconciliation of the Southern Muslims with Buddhist Thais, especially the Islamist rebels and the government. In the 2011 general election, the party won two seats, one for the party-list and one constituency-based in Pattani Province. It is in the opposition against the government of

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the Pri ...

. Matubhum Party was dissolved on 27 December 2018. Most of its members joined the Prachachart Party.

References

External links

Official Website (in Thai)
Defunct political parties in Thailand Political parties established in 2008 2008 establishments in Thailand Political parties disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in Thailand {{thailand-party-stub