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Abhisit Vejjajiva
Published on July 09, 2002

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I would like to take the opportunity - whilst the Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad is visiting Thailand, to write about a Thai thirty-something politician called Abhisit Vejjajiva. To my mind he is one of the brightest and most impressive younger generation leaders in Southeast Asia.

Abhisit is currently, the Deputy Leader of the Democrat party and is slated to succeed Chuan Leekpai as the head of the party in early 2003. Even though the Democrats are currently out of office and struggling in the face of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration, it’s very likely that Abhisit will in time occupy Government House within the next few years.

Unsurprisingly he’s a personal friend of like-minded figures in the region such as our own Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein and the Philippines’ Mar Roxas. In fact I can remember a lunch I hosted for all three men in Singapore three years ago when they discussed (in a remarkably frank and honest manner) the stresses and strains of their respective situations and the particular challenges they had identified vis-à-vis the region and their own countries.

Having met so few politicians of real ability in and around Asia, I know how unusual he is. In a land – Thailand, bereft of leaders, his moral authority, intelligence and universal appeal (voters, and especially women, just adore him) distinguishes him.

In person, Abhisit is unprepossessing. He is a small man and slightly hunched despite his age – he’s only in mid-thirties. He has a handsome face with an engaging half smile, intelligent eyes and a floppy fringe of hair that makes you think he might be a member of a ‘boy band’. Still, one wouldn’t notice him in crowd. However, when he speaks – he makes an immediate impression: people sit up and listen. I can’t vouch for his Thai (though journalists tell me he is a striking speaker) but certainly in English his language is exact and compelling. Bluster is an anathema to a man like Abhisit: he makes sense and words are his weapons, not money.

The Democrat party itself has a reputation for reasonableness, integrity and liberal thinking. As a consequence it’s the logical ‘political’ base for man like Abhisit. Led by the highly principled, if lackluster southerner, Chuan Leekpai, the Democrats are also the country’s oldest political party. However, the Democrats (unlike Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai) are not an ‘instrumental’ party — set up merely to promote the ambitions of a particular politician. Founded in 1946, they’ve managed to create a credible political culture as well as a sense of loyalty and discipline in an extremely unpromising terrain.

Moreover the leadership has always stressed its commitment to the parliamentary system. For example in the aftermath of the March 1992 elections when General Suchinda Kaprayoon tried to seize power, sparking off huge demonstrations in Bangkok, the Democrats refused to join Palang Dharma leader, Chamlong on the streets.

During the World Economic Forum’s 1999 East Asia Economic Summit in Singapore Abhisit silenced a crowded plenary session with his searing honesty as he told them of his impressions of the earlier October 1973 student-led coup: “Suddenly to me, politics was no longer the business of the few. It was everybody’s business.” Similarly, at the same meeting, he criticized a predominantly business crowd for the way many had overlooked the real human suffering sparked off by the financial crisis in 1997: “People were saying that the recession wasn’t deep enough to push through the necessary reforms. At the same time many players were reluctant to accept the idea of ‘bailing in’ or other such arrangements.”

As the younger generation is struggling to cope with the demands of globalisation they would be wise to look north and listen to how Abhisit is tackling the inevitable shifts in economics and politics. First and foremost, he is an outward-looking leader. He balances his innate cosmopolitanism with a deeply-rooted confidence in the Thai ability to weather change:

“We can more than adapt to the challenge of globalisation. Thailand has always maintained its independence. At the same time we’ve remained open to new economic and political ideas. Even though we’ve had long and enduring ties with the Americans, we also possess a strong cultural affinity with China.”

“Asean has been wounded and the current membership has yet to set in place a coherent vision that takes us beyond the basic motherhood statements. The real substance of integration has to be brought forward.” His extraordinary fluency in the English language as well as his education (at Eton and Oxford University) lends him a great deal of confidence. Unlike many of his Thai equivalents, Abhisit is able to move on both the domestic and the international stage with ease.

For a quiet and studious committed family man — he is married with two children and has been a lecturer at Thammasat University — his passion for politics is perhaps surprising. Still, public service has always fascinated him. As he says, “When I was a kid I used to follow Parliamentary debates and read speeches. It was something I knew I wanted to do. I listened to political speeches on the radio in between playing soccer.” In fact as other friends explain, Abhisit was almost consciously groomed for public office. As one society figure adds: “Abhisit was always different: more serious and grounded. We knew he was meant for something very special.“ As a consequence, there is almost universal respect for him amongst the city’s elite.

But he’s alive to the way politics has changed over the years: “The media age presents a new challenge. I am not an extrovert. I’ve always been considered the opposite. I’ve enjoyed reading and debating ideas. However (and this is key) I like persuading people to my way of thinking.” Many people accuse him of being stand-offish. In the clubby milieu of Thai politics, he has followed the lead set by his mentor, the famously reclusive Chuan Leekpai.

As Dr Chalidaporn Songsamphan, a political scientist at Thammast University, says, “When Abhisit first entered the fray he appeared to model his public persona after the Prime Minister so much so that he’s been dubbed ‘Little Chuan’.” Still, Abhisit is unrepentant: ”I stick to what I believe. I will never become a populist. We must remain true to our beliefs.”

Public life in Thailand seems to be divided into two with the politics on the one hand and administration on the other. The dichotomy is striking. Politicians are generally thought to be corrupt opportunists and shysters. The second group are highly respected and admired. While the politicians spend their time making money and trading political favours, the civil servants, especially those at the top of their profession are tasked with the onerous responsibility of actually managing the nation’s sixty-three million people.

Abhisit Vejjajiva has injected the moral authority and service culture of the traditional civil service elite into the political world. Born into a prominent upper-middle class Bangkok clan with strong establishment links, Abhisit (or ‘Mark’ as he’s called by his close friends) continues the family’s long association with public service and excellence. For example, his father is a distinguished physician and Mahidol University’s President. It is almost as if Abhisit’s emergence in the late 80s represents a last ditch attempt by the traditional Thai elite to reclaim the political world from the carpet-baggers.

His career also shows that despite the allure of commerce and the private sector, public life is still a realistic alternative for talented and ambitious young men and women. Mercifully there are some good people entering the fray. With his world-class education, his wealth and status, Abhisit chose to devote himself to his country and his people. He’s rejected the easier, less-exacting world of business. As he says: “I relish the challenge. I enjoy the process of building a consensus. I want people to support me for my ideas and my commitment, essentially for what I want to do for them.”

Quite frankly he may not succeed in making Thailand a better place but, by god, he’s going to try. Moreover it’s his spiritedness, his honesty as well as his raw determination that sets him apart from the mere political practitioners. And if I’m any measure of his capacity to inspire (and I can assure you I am the gloomiest man in KL), I’m convinced that he’s the kind of leader who could make a difference not only to Thailand but also to ASEAN.

Convenient acanthus while.

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