H.E.Thaksin Shinawatra
Leader of the Thai Rak Thai Party,
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
 

I wish to thank the organizers of this conference for choosing a very appropriate theme of “Exchanges, Cooperation and Development” within Asia. You happen to choose the theme and topics of discussion very close to my heart and the policies of my Thai Rak Thai Party. Multilateral cooperation, socio-economic growth, and political party building: these are the issues, I hope, that political parties in our region will find so relevant to our efforts to bring better living, peace, prosperity, strength and happiness to our Asian people.

I am happy to see friends who represent both incumbent governments and opposition parties, covering a diverse range of ideologies, beliefs and platforms. I am happy to see that wherever we stand on the political and economic spectrum, and whatever name we may choose for the banner of our parties, we all stand united in a common goal for our peoples.

And I am happy to paraphrase, if I may, the words of the great Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, upon his centenary anniversary this year, “It does not matter what colour is the cat, so long as it catches the mouse”. May I say, therefore, “It does not matter what colour is the shade of our ideology, so long as our parties always bring the best to the people of Asia”.

I was so gratified by the magnitude of readiness and enthusiasm of Asian countries to build partnership within the multilateral cooperation of the ACD.

Through the ACD, not only have we been able to lay out important strategies for the region, but we have also conducted a number of important meetings over the past year to push forward our cooperation in various functional fields. The ACD offers a platform for a more secure Asia by generating increased investment, trade and employment within the region.

Nowadays, when referring to economic growth and social progress, we cannot avoid talking about globalization, which contains both opportunities and pitfalls for us all. It is time Asia must learn to live with and benefit from the free flows of globalization, namely the flow of goods and services, the flow of people, the flow of financial funds, and the flow of information and technology. Asia must learn to benefit from the free and greater exchange of so much diverse and abundant goods and services available between ourselves. Asia must learn to cope and benefit from the freer mobility of people and the richness of our human resources. Asia must learn and be more capable of mastering its financial resources through new initiatives and instruments such as the Asian Bond Market. Asia must learn and ensure that we are well equipped with modern technology so that our society is a knowledge-and information-based economy. Above all, Asia must learn to forget what keeps us apart and learn to enhance what keeps us together.

All these need all efforts from all political parties of Asia. All these need cooperation and networking of all political parties of Asia. All these need political parties that have the benefits and the well-being of our peoples at the centre of their existence. When I addressed the 2nd ICAPP in November 2002, I spoke of a Social Contract between political parties and the people whom we serve.

I believe it is through this social contract that we, as political parties, are bound to our constituencies. The social contract is not simply about fulfilling our election promises to the voters. It is about repaying the trust and confidence they have placed in our leadership. It is about making the lives of our people better and providing them with greater choices for a happy livelihood. And it is about creating opportunities for wealth creation and enabling the people to make their own choices for their own well-being.

Governments given a mandate to serve the people, often end up using such authority to serve their own interests. Governments given the opportunity to enact laws to empower the electorate, often abuse such laws to sustain their own power. And governments chosen to do what is best for the country, often drift towards doing what is best for themselves.

Despite our very solid majority, we are fully aware that we are in office solely because of the people, and may leave office at any time, if they so wish. We are therefore convinced that, in order to best serve the interests of the country, our government must be a “people-centered” one, focusing primarily on the needs of our citizens.

What is best for the people is not necessarily what we presume it is. In drawing up our party’s platforms and policies, our party did not profess to know what is best for the people, but made a serious effort to discover what the people believe is best for themselves.

These people-centered policies have served as the main driving force of the Government’s socio-economic platform.

These policies have already been implemented in Thailand through a number of government programmes to create wealth at the grass-roots level by promoting new economic activities.

To be sure, this people-centered process will not create a sense of loyalty or obligation between the people and the political parties, nor is it designed to do so. Rather, it will create a sustainable, mutually-reinforcing relationship between the two sides, along with a mutual respect for one another. This is perhaps the ultimate goal that we, as political parties, should seek to achieve.

In this dynamic world, there is no single timeless, fixed solution to all of our problems. This is, therefore, the value of a conference such as this, which provides us the opportunity to exchange experiences on new and innovative approaches to our problems. At the same time, this exchange of views will enable us to identify additional areas of opportunity and collaboration among us all for the benefit of our peoples.

Within the space of just over two months, China has hosted two important meetings aimed at strengthening cooperation within Asia. The ACD is one, and this political parties conference is another. Both aim at enhancing Asian cooperation and a sense of “Asian-ness”. I consider it a privilege to be able to participate in both.

Political parties in Asia are at different levels of development, but we can all generally be proud of the progress we have made.

Let us, therefore, — as political leaders, government officials, and citizens of Asia — join together in this noble mission. Let us move forward in tandem towards our common objective of ensuring the well-being and prosperity of our peoples. Let us join hands as one to achieve a stronger Asia, and fulfill the sacred bond — the Social Contract — that we have made with our peoples and electorate. Let us, after all, make the best of Asia for the best of Asians.