No-one, either within DOAE or the village itself, was displeased with the progress of the Maju GPM group. In fact, there was a general consensus that the group, and the RCM sales in which it participated, were great successes. All parties felt they had either achieved or moved closer to their goals, and could point to benefits they had gained as a result. However, in explaining that success and its nature, a variety of interpretations were put forward. There was agreement on the fact of success, but divergence over its quality and the reasons for its occurrence.
Senior DOAE staff in Yala were very pleased with Maju's record, and indeed this was the reason for my original introduction to the village. For Seni, the group's success was proof that there were no faults in the basic idea behind the project and therefore where the scheme failed it could only be due to problems in implementation. The ever increasing number of people seeking to join the Maju group was seen as evidence that they were free agents and not so overburdened by debt obligations that the scheme was beyond their reach. However, Seni had very little knowledge of the economy in Maju a n d was unaware of the 3% levy that Cik Rashid had
raised on sales to provide a credit facility, so lack of knowledge meant his view of events could remain intact.
Seni gave m u c h credit to the work of Khun Charin and Chalerm from die DOAE office in Raman. Though Seni had attended few RCM sales in Raman, h e knew from reports by other officers and from contacts with these two m e n in o t h e r contexts, that they were hard-working and committed to improving the fortunes of agricultural households. He said that Khun Charin had a pardcularly good relationship with his staff and was able to motivate them more effectively than most district agricultural officers. On the other hand, Seni also gave credit to the people in Maju. To him they exemplified the ideal to which he felt all Malays should aspire, and I often h e a r d him say this in meetings with Malays elsewhere in the province. For Seni, the people in Maju were diligent, open to new ideas, and followed the instructions of the DOAE staff,, having the very opposite characteristics h e usually perceived in Malay villagers, and he believed this good attitude on their part was the key to their improved economic condition.
Khun Charin, looking at the situation from the district office in Raman, also focused on implementation as the key to Maju's success and the progress of RCM sales. He gave most credit to his extension workers and their ability to get their message across effectively. In particular he praised the work of Chalerm, who had developed not only a good relationship with Cik Rashid and the people in Maju, but also with people in other villages, though h e admitted the results elsewhere were less spectacular. In Maju, he said, DOAE staff had been lucky to find a place where people were receptive to new ideas and had a strong leader to organise them. As with Seni, Khun
C h a r i n saw t h e success of the r u b b e r marketing scheme as arising mainly out of DOAE's foresight a n d leadership, tempered by the observation that in Maju the scheme h a d the good fortune to take root in fertile soil. H e felt diat all Malay villages h a d t h e potential to develop like Maju, provided they were o f f e r e d e n c o u r a g e m e n t a n d assistance, a n d that their leaders were well-disposed to the development ethic. H e said that the District Officer of R a m a n , b e i n g a Malay speaker, h a d d o n e m u c h to foster good relations between Thais a n d Malays, and the fact that some extension workers spoke Malay also h e l p e d to make delivery of services easier and m o r e effective. However, h e still felt t h a t most Malay leaders were conservative a n d unwilling to be as enterprising as Cik Rashid, and did not expect the Maju example to become the n o r m in the near future.
C h a l e r m , t h e extension worker who h a d the greatest involvement with people in Maju, concentrated far m o r e on their qualities in explaining t h e GPM g r o u p ' s success. H e c o m m e n t e d that p e o p l e in Maju were generally hard-working, a n d interested in the new ideas he presented to them, t h o u g h they always m a d e up their own minds whether to adopt those ideas. H e felt t h a t Cik Rashid h a d a b r o a d vision of how the village e c o n o m y fitted into t h e wider society, and h a d a strong c o m m i t m e n t to improving t h e living s t a n d a r d s of his people. It was his example which ensured participation in the government's project was strong from the outset. In t h e longer term, Chalerm saw the economic advantages of belonging to the GPM g r o u p as t h e key to u n d e r s t a n d i n g why members r e m a i n e d and why new p e o p l e were attracted. H e said that Malay villagers would eagerly accept a new avenue f o r making profits once someone had shown the way and proved it was effective.
Chalerm felt the basic design of the scheme was good, and that events in Maju confirmed diis, but reiterated that no matter how good the planning behind a scheme, correct implementation was necessary. In Maju, he said his tactic h a d been to visit regularly and to spend time with key members, and this had not only proved to be a useful way of understanding members' needs, but h a d also shown villagers that DOAE officers wanted to help improve living standards, and were willing to commit time and effort towards that end.
When DOAE workers spoke about the nature of success in Maju, they laid stress on those indicators that were important to the DOAE bureaucracy. All noted that the quantity of rubber sold regularly increased, and took this as a measure that needed no elaboration. GPM groups and RCM sales were organised to market rubber, and therefore the more they marketed the more successful they were. Officers also pointed out that the quality of rubber sold was improving, which was important because it meant that exporters could get higher returns, and that Thai rubber could penetrate a wider range of markets overseas. Senior officers were especially conscious of the limited n u m b e r of destinations for rubber exports, and saw this as a major motivation to improve rubber quality in the province. The other common element of success cited by DOAE workers was the increasing membership of Maju's group, and of others in Raman district. Again this needed no elaboration, larger groups being synonymous with better groups. Among the attributes of success mentioned by all DOAE staff, tiie only one directly involving GPM group members was that tiie RCM sales had given growers increased incomes. It was significant that all factors listed by DOAE staff could be translated into statistics which displayed regular and constant
growth. In the world of the DOAE bureaucracy, this was the language of development, quantifiable social facts which flourished and increased over time. As long as communities like Maju continued to provide rising figures for DOAE records and reports, this was manifestly success, and the fact that the development schemes originated from DOAE and were implemented by its staff, meant that it was, above all, DOAE's success. In this view, DOAE provided the benefits, and Malay villagers eventually woke up to them.