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Published on December 5, 2007

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej yesterday urged the country to spend more if it could afford to do so as the royal initiatives on the sufficiency economy do not discourage big spending.

In his 80th birthday speech, His Majesty cited arms procurement as an example, suggesting a particular coastguard ship being planned by the authorities could be too small. He said there should be no optimal size for the ship as that was not the philosophy of the sufficiency economy.

On national reconciliation, he said: "I may look healthy, as I intended to be so, so that I could welcome all of you. However, walking properly is difficult because the two legs are not united.

"The other day, I said the military and civilians all have to unite so that the country could move forward, instead

of stumbling. If we do not reconcile, we will be facing a disaster, the consequences of which would be broken bones or hospitalisation for a long period.

Continuing on the spending, he said: "I heard Thailand [with foreign exchange reserves running at more than US$100 billion] has a lot of funds. Based on the sufficiency economy, we should spend, such as buying military aeroplanes, ships or tanks, etc."

"If we do have a lot of funds, but we do not spend, it's not good. The rich should also spend so as to help the have-nots."

However, His Majesty said arms procurement should be left to the next government as the current administration was drawing to a close.

The country needed to consider these spending programmes thoroughly, he added.

At present, the Navy is seeking approval to buy a submarine as part of its multi-billion-baht modernisation programme, while the Air Force and Army are planning to buy Swedish fighter jets and Ukrainian APCs, respectively.

"As for submarines, a Russian one may cost just half the price of a German-made or a US-made one, but if we bought one from Russia, the US, for instance, might be upset. However, Russian submarines are very good," the King said.

"I'm talking about state secrets, but here state secrets are often revealed. While we should buy a submarine from Russia, the Air Force should not buy Russian planes.

"As for the planes from Sweden [the Air Force is planning to buy the Gripen], they might be outdated when delivered in the next two years. The Army is also planning to buy outdated tanks, but Thailand probably cannot use more advanced tanks because they're too heavy for local soil."

On the environment, he said 100-per-cent biogasoline and 100-per-cent biodiesel were now available, with the latter being made from palm oil.

"We can grow palm oil trees and turn them into energy. Vehicles using biodiesel may go a bit slower, but the price is cheaper. It may not be as good as high-speed diesel, but it's economical. We should produce indigenous diesel from crops," he said.

His Majesty noted Thais would be economically better off if the country avoided making "losses" in sales and purchases.

Based on the philosophy of the sufficiency economy, business people should not be profiteers nor make losses.

"The understanding of this philosophy has improved in the past couple of months. We can make a profit, but some economists may think that's odd [or against this philosophy]," he said.

"If we fail, we could also fall into the sea because we're next to the sea. We're told the sea tide is rising due to global warming [lok ron], but now people say it's getting cold, so whom should we believe?

"However, the word ron in Thai means it's really hot and you sweat, and duad ron means you're in trouble. If you're duad (hot-tempered), it's no use as it only causes trouble for others.

"People have complained Thailand is in trouble, so we must be careful. Foreign analysts have also made dire predictions, so we must be united. If not, the ship will sink."

The Nation