THE management of Bazaar Hotel on Ratchadapisek road is now moving the controversial statue of Kru Kai Kaew, an emaciated, winged figure with golden fangs and scarlet talons, from the front to the rear of the compound after the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) set a deadline and slapped a big fine, Matichon newspaper said late last night (Dec. 27).
Mr. Pairoj Thungthong, CEO of Suan Lum Night Bazaar Ratchadaphisek Co. Ltd., the owner of this hotel, said as he has now returned as the project’s executive he is rushing to resolve the problem caused by the five-metre-tall Kru Kai Kaew statue after SRT ordered that it be moved out of this area within 30 days, or by Saturday Dec. 30,2023.
The company also paid a 1.3 million baht fine last Friday (Dec. 22) because no construction is allowed in this area according to the building control law.
“Tomorrow (Dec. 28) at 10.30 a.m. we will begin moving the Kru Kai Kaew statue as well as the statue of a nine-tailed fox from the front of the hotel to the rear first.
“We had previously asked Kru Khai Kaew Co. Ltd. to move it but it did not take any action, so we have to shift it to an area where no one can see it first and if anyone is interested they can get in touch with us” he said.
The front of the hotel will be turned into an activity area for hotel guests with the occupancy right now, by mostly foreigners, reaching 80-85%, he added
The capital of Buddhist Thailand has countless shrines to spirits and deities, big and small, and many pray and leave offerings in the belief that they will intervene and bring good fortune.
But the new figure, regarded by some as a god of wealth but by others as alien to Buddhism and even sacrilegious, has caused controversy.
There are calls for the statue, installed on Aug. 9 and then formally inaugurated with a prayer ceremony on Sunday (Aug. 13), to be moved or disposed of.
“When you worship something, it has to come with Buddhist belief,” said the Artists’ Council for the Promotion of Buddhism of Thailand, which has asked the hotel to remove the statue.
“They can’t even answer what the statue is – you can’t just establish something random and worship it. It’s not in the Buddhist scriptures.”
CAPTION:
Top: A giant statue of Kru Kai Kaew, regarded by some as a god of wealth but by others as alien to Buddhism, pictured in Bangkok on Aug. 18, 2023. Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha and published by CNA
Front Page: Another view of the Kru Khai Kaew statue. Photo: Matichon
Also read: Giant Kru Kai Kaew statue stirs controversy in Bangkok
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