Streetwise: Better a healthy buffalo than a starving tiger

But this was not the case when Chaipattana Foundation secretary-general Dr Sumeth Tantivejjakul took to the podium at last week's "White Ocean Strategy" seminar. Befitting a man of his years, Sumeth is wise, and after years of speaking on this complicated topic, he has learned how to add some colour to the subject. 

Sumeth readily admitted the topic was potentially dull, involving as it does aspects of morality and ethics. He also acknowledged that his speeches tend to depress audiences, but said he could not adopt unorthodox speaking methods now, as he had become synonymous with the sufficiency economy philosophy.

Nonetheless, Sumeth kept his audience entertained with his wisdom.

 The collapse of communism and the recent blow dealt to people's confidence in capitalism by the global economic crisis, Sumeth said, show that without ethics, economic growth cannot be sustained. The current crisis, he said, derived from greed.

"After the hamburger crisis, a dim sum crisis and a sushi crisis could follow. Luckily, Thais still eat khao kaeng [a one-dish rice meal]. So we are being spared, to an extent, the worst effects of the crisis," he said.

He also pointed out that the impact of the crisis could have been lessened even further if Thailand's dependence on the agricultural sector had not declined. The sector's contribution to GDP has fallen from a pre-industrialisation level of 40 per cent to 9 per cent, as the Kingdom is now more dependent on exports.

"Some leaders did not want the country to remain a buffalo. They wanted us to be a tiger. Now, Thailand is a starving tiger. If we were a buffalo, we'd be a healthy buffalo. It takes time for farmers to get rich, but the wealth will stay," he said.

During his speech, a power blackout occurred at the Stock Exchange of Thailand building. Sumeth told the audience that there had been several blackouts during his three visits to the SET.

Sumeth might have missed an opportunity for a joke, there. How about: The SET wanted to reduce energy consumption to fit Sumeth's speech on sufficiency?