I can find no clear evidence regarding Khun Phan's ethnic identity (at least in English); given his apparent Buddhist religion, it's likely he was ethnic Thai. However, the cities of Nakhon Si Thammarat (Ligor), Songkhla, and Patani were all ethnically mixed (Thais, Malays, and Chinese), and in that milieu it is likely he would have viewed the keris as an object of magical power, as PenangsangII has suggested.
It seems clear from both scholarly sources (and the opinions of contributors in this forum) that to the degree keris culture exists within the borders of the Thai nation, it exists because of ethnic Malays who are now part of the Thai state. There are, of course, contemporary Thai collectors of keris, just as there are many collectors of keris in this forum who are not ethnic Malays.
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