(As delivered)

Remarks
by
H.E. Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva
 Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
“Thailand at a Crossroads: How to Meet the Challenges”
Hosted by Thomson Reuters
22 June 2009, Singapore
-------------------------

Mr. Edward Haddad,
Managing Director for ASEAN, Pacific & South Asia, Reuters,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Let me first of all say what a pleasure it is for me to be here in Singapore, a place that always tops one of those polls about liveable places--clean, prosperous, multi-cultural and innovative.

2. I appreciate the invitation from Thomson Reuters to let me share my thoughts with a distinguished audience and hope that we can give a deeper understanding of the situation in Thailand today.

3. The subject that was given to me is “Thailand at a Crossroads.” I think there was a debate about whether it should be “How to Heal the Rift” or “How to Meet the Challenges,” but I think the message is clear. For all of you who have been watching Thailand in the past three, four years are obviously concerned and disturbed by the images you often see in the media, with the divisions and sometimes violence on the streets of Bangkok and in Thailand. And, of course, you all know that we all face an enormous challenge anyhow as far as the economic and financial crisis is concerned. Of course, in recent days, also I would add that the news concerning the Southern Border Provinces also raise another issue concerning peace and stability in those areas.

4. So, you would say that we are at a crossroads. And I see that we also have choices to make concerning which path we take. And there are two paths that I have chosen to reject. The first is that we simply cannot go on the way we’ve been going over the last two to three years. There’s no way that we could hope that, by doing the same thing, after mistakes after mistakes, that we could somehow have this illusion that this time it’s going to work out. So change was needed in the way we handle the economic and political situation and also the situation in the South. The second path I’ve also rejected is that I’m just here to fix problems day-to-day. That’s not good enough. That’s not what the people expect of me after that very important political change at the end of last year. And because in all crises, there are opportunities, I would be letting my country and my people down if I didn’t think that there were also opportunities this time around for the country and my people to take.

5. So what do we do? First of all, the political problems. My take on the political problems is that anger that has been built up on the streets from all sides--yellow shirts, red shirts--is an accumulation of the failed politics of the past few years, beginning first of all with an elected government that abused power, corruption, violation of people’s rights that led the people on to the streets, angered by what they see as injustice and corruption--that led to mass protests. And then the coup took place, which obviously gave concerns to democracy-loving people on the other side who say that that was no way to solve Thailand’s political problems. And these two groups still feel that there are remnants of those concerns that led them on to the streets. Some of the provisions in the Constitution are not as democratic as they should be. And others are still concerned that people who have been responsible for corruption, or illegal acts, or abuses of power, have not been brought to account. So the issue for me is not about whether we are going to please one group, or to take sides, or to say that this is a rift between urban and rural, rich and poor. It’s about making sure that we have a politics that works for all. And that politics has to be democratic. That politics has to be accountable. That politics has to be transparent. And over the last half a year, when I’ve been in office, I have tried my best to make sure that we attain that kind of standard. So, we have to make sure that we are accountable and transparent in all we do. We invite participation from all groups. And we do what we can to accommodate all the legitimate concerns, whatever sides bring those concerns up. And, of course, during April, things got out of hand--when we had to postpone the ASEAN and Related Summits in Pattaya and there was unrest on the streets. But what I did was to restore order and restore order swiftly. We made sure that, in 48 hours, things returned to normal. And it was in no way an act that was trying to suppress these people aside. All we did was to restore order and say that they are free to express their views but they have to do so within the limits of the law and the Constitution. And right after order was restored, the first thing we did was to open up a special session for parliamentary debate on all the events. And also that led to the setting up of two committees--one to investigate, if you like, what had happened and another, to find a political solution as we move ahead. Those committees will report to me next month. I hope that they will come up with proposals that will provide a road map on how we would find a political solution that would be satisfactory to all sides. In the meantime, of course, I will make sure that the Cabinet and Parliament continue to function and make sure that we respond to the people’s needs, and I will return to that when I talk about the economy.

6. As far as the South is concerned, the recent violence obviously is something that has caused pain and suffering for all of us, not just people in the provinces. And we certainly condemn all the people who engage in violence in the area. But we know that to solve this problem, we need patience; we need time; and we need also to have a comprehensive approach. One of the key changes that we will make is to shift the emphasis back on to development and justice as a way out of this problem in the Southern Border Provinces. Unfortunately, this takes time. We set up a special committee made up of Cabinet members and related agencies to draw up a development plan, which is now complete, and just awaits approval of the money so that we could go ahead with a very comprehensive and massive investment project aimed at bringing up the level of income of the people in the area. At the same time, we are trying to resolve all the outstanding cases that have brought a sense of injustice to people in the South and also adapt the ways that our security forces are operating there to make sure it’s a more integrated approach. And later on, we will be passing a legislation to set up a special office with at least a Cabinet-level person who would be in charge of affairs in the South. That’s the approach that we’ve taken. We’re confident it’s the right approach, but we know that, along the way, we’ll be tested and challenged, and it’s important for us to keep our head and make sure that we don’t lose sight of what we are trying to achieve.

7. But despite all the troubles, whether it’s in the South or the political situation in general, I think the most important thing for Thai people right now, which is the same as people all over the world, is their concern about the economy. And whatever turbulence my Administration’s been through, we have never been distracted, we have never lost sight of the topmost priority, which is to make sure that recovery would be underway as soon as possible. So the first six months had seen an implementation already of the first stimulus package, which is basically aimed at supporting income and helping the most vulnerable and those people that most need assistance during these times, whether it’s in terms of free education programmes, income support for the elderly, income support for low earners, and also a price support programme for farmers. And this package also proves that this Government really cares about all Thais, particularly the poorest, particularly those who live in remote areas and that should be able to live at a decent standard, even during very poor economic times.

8. Today, I hope the Senate will approve of the decree that will empower the Government to engage in additional borrowing so that we can begin to implement the second round of the stimulus package, this time aimed at upgrading our infrastructure and increasing competitiveness of our economy. So that involves irrigation, transport and communications, the upgrading of schools, health centres, particularly in rural areas, upgrading our tourist attractions, and also providing incentives for the creative economy. So again, this is very much on the top of the agenda and we hope that, through this second stimulus package, we would be able to create 1.5 million to 2 million jobs, get growth back into positive territory by the end of the year, begin the process of recovery by next year and, at the same time, make sure that the Thai economy emerges out of this crisis stronger. I would say that the strengths and potential of the country remains there. We aim to continue to be a significant food exporter. We aim also to be a significant player in alternative fuel production. We are determined to keep our base as a production hub for the auto industry, the parts and electronics industries. And also we aim to increase the proportion of the service economy in the economy as a whole. So, the potential strengths are there. The politics has to be reformed, has to be changed to support that.

9. I would end by saying that you talk about rifts, and I see diversity. And in diversity, we can have strength; we can have complementarity. And I will do all I can to make sure that that diversity, which is very much at the core of why we are a democracy in the first place, is put to good use. And I am determined to do so through hard work, dedication, honesty and not losing sight of where we are going. So I’m confident that, if we are at a crossroads, we are going down the right path, and we are going as fast as we can. Thank you very much.