?
It is truly an honour for me to be invited to speak at the world renowned Columbia University where three United States Presidents including President Obama, nine Justices of the Supreme Court and 39 Nobel Prize winners have studied. ?This is a record which is certainly hard to beat. ?And I am certainly proud to be at one of world?s most important centers of research and academic excellence, and absorb the vibrant atmosphere for learning.
As you heard in the introduction, during my days as a student I failed to cross the Atlantic Ocean, so I was stuck in the United Kingdom with friends like Boris Johnson.? And actually David Cameron is two years my junior both at school and university.? And so, it is a great pleasure to finally make my way here, although very briefly.? And of course, even from my days as a student, I actually not just heard of Professor Stiglitz but had to read his articles, remembered trying to understand credit rationing.? I don?t know if you?d remembered writing about credit rationing all those years ago.
But I am pleased to be here and I know that there are many Thai students studying in the US.? My estimate is about 9,000.? 57 of them are actually here at this very university and the US has produced many prominent and able graduates who are now leaders in Thai public and private sectors, including many members of my Cabinet and members of my delegation who are here with me today.
You may be surprised that the topic that has been chosen is actually talking about post crisis.? I?m sure many of you may have in your mind, but you are politely thinking, why is he talking about ?post-crisis? when there is so much more that needs to be done.? And of course, as you?ve heard again from the introduction, I knew from day one that the circumstance that I faced when I assumed office was unique.? Not only did my country, Thailand, have to face the impact of the global economic crisis which has been felt around the world, and it?s said to the worst in many many decades.?? But of course the country has been stuck with political impasse, for some would say political crisis for over two to three years.
The one thing I have to clear right from the start is that this talk of post crisis is not about complacency.? Yes, the nine months that we?ve been in office, we have made some and very substantial progress in terms of achieving economic recovery and also political reconciliation.? The numbers for our economy are improving month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter.? And we expect to see growth to resume to normal rates at the latest may be next year or towards the end of next year.? As for political reconciliation, although the demonstrations continue, differences do exist, but there?s clearly greater calm and stability.? And again, let me reiterate that we are not in anyway being complacent about the situation, and in fact as soon as I get back to Thailand, my proposals for a roadmap to constitutional amendments and political reconciliation will be discussed with leading members of parliament and political parties so that we can move ahead on that front too.
But the reason I want to talk about post-crisis scenario is simply this.? We have to remind ourselves in these days where we tend to face day-to-day crisis and forget the bigger picture.? And I believe that you have to know where you want to go before you know what you have to do.? And setting out, spelling out, what we see as the appropriate political and economic structure for the country, for Thailand, post-crisis I think gives us a good idea of what we need to do now and for what we have to avoid.? That is why I have chosen to talk about this topic at this particular time.
And in two days time I shall be in Pittsburgh.? I can tell you that I will certainly strongly express my view that it is certainly too premature to talk about the exit strategies for fiscal stimulus and monetary policies that will support growth.? But, as I say, I am now interested in taking you through some exercise on what I think Thailand needs in terms of preparing ourselves for the post-crisis scenario.? I shall talk less about the economy.? I have other occasions, perhaps too many occasions, on my trip to talk about that. ?The stimulus package that we put in was not only designed to create jobs but also to increase competitiveness and prepare ourselves for the post-crisis world, particularly the issue of food and energy security and the ability to compete with low cost, and the vital role of innovation and creative thinking, contributing to an economy like Thailand.? But I will concentrate on the political side, particularly democracy because I?m sure that the picture you have seen on your television screen over the past three years you have seen demonstrations; you have seen chaos; sometimes you have seen violence.? And the question is does that reflect the failure of democracy in Thailand?? And where is that going to lead Thai politics, given that may be going back as far as a decade ago Thailand was seen as an example or even a model of how a growing democracy should progress. ?We had a very progressive constitution back in 1997.? We were known for a country that is very open for freedom of expression, ranked very highly in comparison to most countries in the region.? And yet a decade on, the impression the people have of Thai politics is one of chaos, conflict and violence.
Well, let me tell you first of all though that there is no question that despite the differences in opinion there is still a consensus among Thai people and Thai society. And there is still an aspiration of the Thai people that we continue on a democratic path, and that we still firmly believe that only a democratic system will lead us to a sustainable development and that will deliver peace and prosperity for Thai people.
But we know that in a democracy, uncertainty and, sometimes, volatility or even instability comes with it.? And even in a well-established democracy there?s always been a history in which there is a period of uncertainty, a period of instability.? Even civil wars have happened in an established democracy.
Thailand, in its history, has gone through a democratic experience formally since 1932, when the country transformed from absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and adopted a parliamentary system. Since then we have had 18 constitutions, about 24 coups, depending on how you count, and we have had just last year 4 prime ministers.? But again, I would insist that that does not reflect failure on the part of Thai democracy.? I see democracy in Thailand as being vibrantly at work. And when Secretary Clinton visited Thailand in July earlier this year, she said, and she said it well, that Thai politics is as spicy as its food.
So we have been through ups and downs and we are determined to learn from this experience.? ?The whole society is learning to adapt and to find ways to have a more mature and sustainable democracy. ?And the one thing that is certain that after all the political difficulties that we have been going through at least now Thai people in all walks of life, at all levels, are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of politics in their lives and they are more determined to engage in politics directly which to me could only be a stronger foundation for a better democracy in the future.? They would no longer leave politics in the hands of only a few. And politics will no longer be a matter only for a few elites or people at the top.? It is now in every household and I see this as a silver lining in a cloud that we have had in this form of political crisis.
So let me share with you some of my thoughts on what type of democracy is needed in Thailand.? We certainly want a kind of democracy that is based on the rule of law, responsibility and accountability.? We want a kind of democracy where people?s voices are not only heard during election but their voices are integral to all decision making process.? We want a democracy where not only the majority rules but the minority also has a fair share, their voices are duly heard and their interest equally recognised.
In short, we are in interested in the substance of democracy more than the form.? The Thai people now have come to appreciate that having constitution, having political parties, having election do not necessarily give them democracy. ?Democracy means much much more than that.?? And to me, the only true kind of democracy is liberal democracy.? And in the world, where there is increased integration, openness, competition, and where market force would inevitably continue to dominate, liberal democracy appears to the only kind of governance that is well suited to the changing economic and other environment at the global level.
A month ago I had an honour to speak after a lecture given by Professor Stiglitz in Bangkok. Professor Stiglitz is now very well known and well liked by the people of Thailand, and I took the opportunity then to share my thoughts on how to make a progressive Thailand. I laid down some basic principles on how we can bring the country to the next level.? There are vital factors to make a new democratic society. And these principles can very well apply to many countries aspiring for democracy.? So let me go through some of them.
First, our new democratic society must be responsive to people?s need, putting people first. Gone are the days where politics is a game played by a few -- secret negotiations, lock rolling or whatever. ?The people now expect no less that when they cast their vote or when they support political parties they will get in return concrete policies that really matter to people?s lives.? And whatever the shortcomings of the Thai democracy, it?s extremely clear that that the people now expect all governments to respond to their needs.? And indeed, that?s why when I assumed office and we had to tackle the economic problem I got the support of the people to have a somewhat unconventional stimulus package.? We didn?t go for big construction projects, trying to crate jobs, because we knew, among other things, that in those kinds of projects there will be considerable lags. But what we did was to really assist the least fortunate, the most vulnerable people in the society so that they have their purchasing power sustained and that they have a degree of confidence to go on with their ordinary life and, therefore, sustain domestic economy as much as they can to compensate for whatever losses the economy took from the drop in export and tourism.?? And the expectations of the people are no less. They feel that that kind of package can really address their concern, really matter to their lives. We launched the programme of free education, income support for the elderly.? We even had cash handout for the low income and a comprehensive training programme for the unemployed who are now actually fast retuning to the workforce.? And I think by doing that we have demonstrated that a democratic government needs to respond to what really matters to people?s lives.
Secondly, this new democratic society needs to pay attention to the idea of reconciliation and inclusiveness.? Yes, I inherited a very divisive political scenario, a divisive society one you can argue.?? But my determination was to reach out; to prove that a democratic government goes beyond thinking about its own power base, base of its own supporters, that once elected we have to work for everybody, irrespective of where they live and irrespective of which party they support. And without reconciliation you cannot truly implement polices that would benefit the good of the whole because there will be injustice, there will be unfairness, and in the end it would mean discrimination and would lead to the bending of various laws. ?So we make sure that justice, fairness and inclusive participation is something that should be a characteristic of the new democracy.? I?d like to say that we also have a precedent that clearly shows that these are the values that should matter to a new generation of politicians.? For Thailand, when I talk about reconciliation, this has to be at many levels now, whether the people who wear different colour shirts, whether the problem that we have in the southern border provinces where the Muslim population feel that they had endured too much injustice in the past and even issues concerning our treatment of our neighbouring countries where there inevitably is tension with???? countries with long common border with different political and economic systems -- Myanmar in the West, Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam in the East.? I hope that this style of government would set the precedent for subsequent governments that the importance of engaging people in dialogue and of allowing participation of all sides have to be part and parcel of a good democratic system.
Thirdly, I think in any political system now there has to be recognition that our economy or society is now inevitably part of a more integrated global or regional economy and society.? For too long we say old politics is local.?? But if we continue with that myth we will have an electorate that does not appreciate exactly what forces are driving the facts that mater to their lives.? It?s time for the farmers in Thailand know that the price of their crops is not going to be determined by the government but by global supply and demand. ?It?s time that the Thai people understand that there is now limitation on what set of policies the government can adopt, whether because we are restricted by competitiveness, for instance, in terms of fiscal regimes or whether because for economic reason we cannot just determine our interest rate and exchange rate at the same time and remain an open economy.? These are the kind of things that I think the new electorate -- a more sophisticated electorate -- is needed in a new democracy.? And for Thailand also, we are now part of ASEAN which is trying to move toward a single community by the year 2015 -- an economic community, a single market with almost 600 million people, and also a community that shares common values concerning issues ranging from security to culture.? Again it is not easy to do because, as you know, a lot of political dialogue tends to focus on the local but we need to make sure that we can move beyond that.
Next, a new democratic society must be firmly founded on good governance.? Democracy development is certainly not possible if good governance is lacking.? And you could argue that political situation or political mess we?ve got ourselves into is rally rooted in the lack of this principle of good governance.? Government popularly elected misunderstood that they had a mandate to break the law, that somehow popularity would enable them to put themselves above the law.? Again it is time that a democratic or a maturing democracy like Thailand recognises that part of the liberal democracy is that you have a limited government, that the mandate that you get from the ballot box only covers issues concerning policies.? It does not allow you to have a different status vis-?-vis the law.? It does not allow you to interfere with the working of other key institutions that support the good democratic system like the media, like the courts and the rule of law.
Finally, I would say that a new democratic society in Thailand has also to be founded on sound economic policies. The one thing Thailand has been able to show the world is that, despite all the political changes and instability in the past, the foundation of our economic philosophy which is the belief in the open economy and also the belief in market forces and the role of market sector has enable us to weather so many financial and economic storms, and has enabled us to remain resilient in the face of economic or financial crisis even while we go through politically difficult times.? That means that it would be a pity if we were to forget this and go down the wrong path in terms of sustaining the progress that we achieved economically especially during the last three or four decades.? I know we need to back all these up also with other policies and measures that would support a strong democratic society -- innovation, vision and of course, most important of all as I always say, process of education -- and not just formal education but lifelong learning where people need to learn the skills and values that would make them good democratic citizens.
That?s the vision that we have set out for the post-crisis democratic Thailand.? You may think that the gap between what you see and the picture that I just described may be too big.? But I think having this vision provides the most effective and clear guideline of what my government and may be my successor would need to do to make sure that we achieve a stronger, more stable and democratic system for the country.
I believe that here you may take some of these things, these values, for granted.? But in many economies, countries and young democracies around the world the people and the politicians still need to go through this learning process.? I believe that if these values are appreciated, we will be able to embark on a path, may be long, may be tough, but will surely lead us to where we want to go.? Future is not tomorrow.? The Future is in today and yesterday.?? And I am determined to work with all my people in the country to achieve what I have just described as the new democratic society of Thailand.
Thank you for your attention and I will be happy to answer questions and share views and comments with all of you.
Thank you very much.