Ponor schools are an educational institution for Muslims, providing knowledge about religion, politics, administration, law, social values, traditions, and language. While the institution is crucial for Muslims in this region, it poses the most difficult obstacle for the state to implement its cultural assimilation policy. The state education policies obligate Malay Thai children to attend compulsory education. An attempt to change Ponor schools into private institutions focusing on Islamic education has had some social impact on the Muslim Thais. There are groups that agree with, disagree with and are unsure of the idea. Finally, the first and last group accepted the government’s idea. Those disagreeing with the idea expressed themselves violently against the state by joining terrorist groups, claiming that the change was detrimental to Muslim culture. Using violent means to suppress terrorist problems in the region only terrorizes local people, threatening their security and creating mistrust between Muslim Thais and state officers as well as Buddhist Thais. The situation has had a negative socio-economic and political impact on the four provinces as well as on the image of the country.