By Kavi Chongkittavorn*
The Bangkok Post-8 Dec 2017
It was the spring of 2007. The application deadline was quickly approaching for a qualified Thai candidate to serve as the 12th ASEAN secretary-general.
The five-year tenure was open to all Thai citizens. The frenzied search came at the most exciting time in ASEAN’s 40-year history because the group’s charter was in the making. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs knew full well that the successful candidate had to be very special to kick off the new era of ASEAN. After some internal debate, instead of the common practice of keeping the selection process only among senior foreign ministry officials, the government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanond decided to go public with an open recruitment.
As the deadline neared, Kusuma Snidvongse, former director of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, tried repeatedly to convince Surin Pitsuwan to apply for the position. In the beginning, he was not enthusiastic, saying he had a busy daily schedule filled with activities. As deputy foreign minister (1992-1995) and then as foreign minister (1997-2001), he had attended ASEAN meetings and learned first-hand the ASEAN way and its strengths and weaknesses as well as his own potential and constraints. But Dr Kusuma did not stop trying to convince him.
After the fourth round of meetings was held at a hotel on Wireless Road, his application was finally submitted to the ministry in the afternoon – a few hours before the deadline. One of the key topics discussed was Surin’s political status. As foreign minister of Thailand, he had a ministerial rank. The 11 ASEAN secretaries-general since 1967 had previously been either permanent secretaries or directors-general. All had been handpicked by their governments. One itchy question surfaced: Why should Surin downgrade himself to apply for this job? But he was not concerned.
According to ASEAN protocol, the secretary-general is accorded a ministerial rank. Therefore, as a former foreign minister, Surin would raise the profile of the ASEAN chief. Surin’s close friends had high expectations, given his personal and global reputation. They boldly stated that a person of his caliber and intellect should go for a higher position, such as United Nations secretary-general, which would soon be vacant.
It was an open secret that both US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas expressed strong support for Surin’s UN candidacy. To join the UN race, the Thai government in power had to make the official nomination. Then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra decided to take a strong partisan position, and dropped Surin’s name. He nominated Surakiart Sathirathai, who served as foreign minister in his cabinet, instead.
In private, Surin often discussed at length the challenges he faced engaging with other ASEAN colleagues, especially on issues related to human rights and democracy. Under the government of Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai (1997-2001), Thailand made respect for human rights and promotion of democracy key elements of its foreign policy. After the tom yum goong financial crisis in 1997, Thailand hoped that clear liberal values would attract further support from the US and European Union. As such, Surin was the right person to serve as Thailand’s voice on the global stage. Together with his deputy, MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Thailand’s foreign policy and international profile was highly visible.
The political crisis in Cambodia in 1997, Myanmar in 1999-2001, and East Timor in 2000 tested Surin’s leadership and communication skills at three levels – local, regional and international. ASEAN decided to admit Cambodia in October 1999, after a two-year delay due to internal leadership disputes that were subsequently settled. He tried hard to pry open ASEAN’s principle of non-interference through the concept of flexible engagement to encourage his colleagues to discuss and find common solutions to challenges that could impact member countries.
At the time, Surin was more focused on his political future after eventful and exciting years as the one of the country’s most dynamic foreign ministers, during which he tried to help salvage the economy after the 1997 catastrophe. Deep down, he desired to continue doing what he did best- educating and inspiring youngsters with disadvantages to believe that if they worked hard and unselfishly, they would be successful and recognized.
Surin also was a strong supporter of interfaith dialogue and relations. His knowledge of different religions constantly surprised friends and colleagues. He could easily repeat quotes from the Koran, the Bible and Buddha’s teachings. Except for the Thai Muslim community and Malaysians, few people would be able to identify Abdul Halim bin Ismail, his Muslim name, as the Thai foreign minister.
After he left his foreign minister’s post in mid-2001, he spent the next seven years roaming the globe, serving in various capacities in UN-related agencies. He enjoyed tremendously his stints as an adviser to the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty from 1999-2001 and a member of the Commission on Human Security of the United Nations until 2003. Global debates over responsibility to protect and the concept of human security provided him with unique global perspectives and the networks of powerful thinkers. He became more passionate when he discussed these challenges, both at home and abroad.
Coupled with his upbringing in the Islamic tradition by parents who were religious educators in cosmopolitan southern Thailand, all his experience and knowledge from a Thai village were rebooted in the global village. His political experience as an MP from his homeland from 1986-2001 also helped transform him into a people’s representative. As a Thai Muslim-scholar-cum-diplomat, he was able to rise to society’s pinnacle without any pretense or connections; he had become a symbol for integrity and intellect. No other Thai leaders were like him as he possessed both sa-neh and barami (natural charm and presence).
After his interview by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ selection committee in May 2007 with other shortlisted candidates, his name was chosen and forwarded to Prime Minister Surayud, who endorsed it without delay in time for the green light from ASEAN ministers who were meeting in Manila on July 27-28, 2007. The selection committee unanimously agreed that Surin had the ‘capacity and intellect’ to lead ASEAN. After the official announcement, Surin’s life changed dramatically with his new mission which he had long prepared to be the face of ASEAN, criss-crossing the region and also travelling the world.
Termsak Chalermphalanuphab, who served under him first as special assistant and then as director of external relations, aptly summed up Surin’s contributions to ASEAN. He said Surin took up his ASEAN duties at a time when the group was moving toward a more rules-based structure under the newly adopted ASEAN Charter. Starting his term of office in the year that the ASEAN Charter took effect, Surin reorganized the structure and duties of the ASEAN Secretariat to meet the charter’s vision for the ASEAN secretary-general and his team at the ASEAN Secretariat as the ‘network nerve center of ASEAN’ in support of ASEAN community-building. Mr Termsak, who served nearly two decades at the ASEAN Secretariat, said that Surin was always very enthusiastic about engaging civil society groups from ASEAN countries as well as those from outside. ‘He was not afraid to speak out about what he thought was right, and this sometimes annoyed those ASEAN ministers who did not want Surin to speak for ASEAN on sensitive issues without their authorization,’ Mr Termsak said.
From then on, numerous tales and anecdotes of Surin’s wisdom and vision from those who met and listened to him on the ASEAN circuit would be written and told. He had friends and admirers everywhere of all faiths and skin colors. He was the de facto foreign minister of ASEAN because of his tireless efforts to promote ASEAN and share the grouping’s aspirations with the rest of the world. But there is a twist. ‘You can speak and advance ASEAN interests, do whatever you like, but you cannot sign a check, even with one dollar written on it,’ he said light-heartedly of the organization he led from 2008 to 2012. Even without his signature, his legacy will survive for generations to come.
*Kavi Chongkittavorn is a veteran journalist on regional affairs.
(https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1374743/surin-was-aseans-de-facto-foreign-minister)
