Former Deputy Prime Minister Pongpol Adireksarn Defends Thai Basil as National Heritage Against Private Company Claims
Naewna
Key summary
On October 24, 2026, former Deputy Prime Minister Pongpol Adireksarn posted on Facebook to defend Thai basil (kaphrao) as a national heritage plant. He cited the ancient medical text 'Kamphie Phet Sasat Songkhap' compiled by Phraya Pisun Prasech Vech in 1896 with royal assistance from Prince Damrong Rajanubhab during King Rama V's reign. Adireksarn, who served as Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives (2040-2043) and Minister of Education (2046), noted that the book was distributed to secondary schools in 2046 to promote Thai traditional medicine knowledge. He further referenced a revised edition published in 2050 by faculty at the Ayurveda Damrong School to commemorate the King's 80th birthday, stating these texts confirm Thai basil is a property of the Thai nation and not owned by any individual or legal entity.
M31 has compiled the key facts based on reporting from the source below. Please refer to the original article for details.
This article was restructured with AI-assisted translation and may contain errors. Please refer to the original source below for accuracy.
Official source
Naewna
Read original ↗https://www.naewna.com/n/politics/130146/