CALD holds 15th Anniversary Conference in the city of Bangkok

The anniversary conference, held at the historic Chulalongkorn University on March 28, 2009, was attended by members of the growing CALD family — members of parliament and party officials from member parties, individual members, international and regional partners, and affiliates. With the theme “Liberal Responses to the Global Economic Crisis,” theconference aimed to create a dialogue between policy makers and economists that focus on the policy responses needed today and to develop ideas of what a liberal policy response could look like – both in government and in opposition. This event was hosted by the Democrat Party (DP) Thailand and supported the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).

In the welcome remarks, members of the convening organizations gave their brief insight and expectations on the conference and expressed their sincerest accolades to CALD for its commitment to its raison d’�tre and mandate of safeguarding democracies in Asia and beyond.

Dr. Rainer Adam, FNF regional director for East and Southeast Asia, said “We believe that liberals have to work together from across the globe to preserve and strengthen what we have achieved — the idea of universality of basic human rights, the belief in participatory democracy…and an open world market that enriches us all through trade and investment.” H.E. Kasit Piromya, minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, expressing optimism in CALD’s initiatives, said that “…with determination and with liberal ideas and responses, we could contribute to the world at large and make liberal democracy to blossom fully.”

Through a video telecast, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, chair of CALD and secretary general of the Singapore Democratic Party, conveyed his anniversary message to CALD and shared his thoughts on the theme of the conference. “…As we tackle the questions of stimulus packages and financial reforms in this conference, let us not forget the political impact of a crisis. In Asia, there are still a number of countries that use the argument of economic development as a shield against political progress…Asian liberals and democrats must be attuned, sensitized even, to signals of political restlessness. When pro-democracy forces emerge, CALD must respond by encouraging and supporting such efforts. Such an approach is even more essential now that democratic governments are mired in their own economic concerns…Every crisis brings forth opportunities — opportunities to advance democracy in this region that we cannot afford to miss. I wish this conference every success that it promises to be,” Dr. Chee said.

The conference proper was formally opened by H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva, prime minister of the Kingdom of Thailand. In his keynote address, Prime Minsiter Abhisit laid down the priorities of the current Thai government to bring Thailand into normalcy after months of political instability and social struggle. He noted that the hosting of the ASEAN Summit and the effort to push for a number of significant measures and policies in parliament is a testimony to the fact that Thailand is back in business, functioning and swiftly moving to respond to the global financial crisis. He underscored that “For many of (us), we are on familiar turf where our societies continue to find that right balance between how to make sure the market economy and democracy continue to function when there is instability both in the economic and political realms. And how we could continue to apply the very ideology that we all believe in which is the right and freedom of people to choose.” Moreover, he said “I hope that over the course of today where we have a number of sessions where we will jointly assess the situation (and) share some experiences of how best to respond to this crisis, we can work again with a common agenda to protect our democracy, to make sure that the market system functions better, and ultimately achieve peace and prosperity for our people.”

As a testimony to the growing liberal family of CALD, H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid, former president of Indonesia, was accepted as CALD’s third individual member. Gus Dur, as he is more popularly known in Indonesia, was also presented with a plaque recognizing his lifetime achievement in the service of his country and people and for his exemplary and selfless leadership embodying the highest ideals of liberty and the promotion of democracy and human rights in Asia and beyond.

The conference focused on three sessions with Session I tackling stimulus packages in Asia, Session II providing a balance between political pressure and sound economic, and Session III discussing the impact of the crisis on people’s lives.

Session I included economists Ms. Tricia Yeoh , research officer to the Chief Minister of Selangor State Government in Malaysia and Dr. Banjamin Diokno, former minister for Budget and professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics. The session chair was Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha, head of the international affairs of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka while reactors included Hon. Florencio Abad, former minister of Education and president of the Liberal Party of the Philippines and Dr. Henry Ho, former minister of Finance from the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan. This sessionexamined the structure of proposed stimulus packages in Asia and whether these packages were appropriate to the quality of governance in their respective countries.

Session II explored ways to forge a balance and reconcile the political need for action with maintaining economically sound policies. Members of this panel discussed the challenges of the government vis-a-vis the pressure of providing populist projects and the wiser decision of sustaining investments and enhancing productivity in the long run. The speakers in this session were Hon. Sam Rainsy, MP, leader of the Cambodian opposition and Dr. Jun-ji Shih, former chairperson of the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan. Dr. Direk Patmasiriwat, a faculty member of Economics Department from the Thammasat University, and Dr. Benjamin E. Diokno, provided incisive comments and reactions. The chair of this session was Hon. Jules Maaten, Member of Parliament representing the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

In Session III, the members of the panel shared their views towards the challenges held by governments and political parties in responding effectively to the difficulties of people’s daily living amidst the crisis. In the discussion of stimulus and financial reforms, the impact of the crisis on the people is often neglected. The speakers provided insight that would help liberals face the challenges of allowing democracy to secure the trust of the people in democratic processes. The speakers were Tan Sri Dr. Chin Fook Weng, former senator from the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, and Dr. Mohamad Ikhsan Modjo, director of the Institute for Development of Economic and Finance in Indonesia. Reactors in this session included Hon. Martin C.M. Lee, QC, SC, founding chairman of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong and an individual CALD member, and Dr. Direk Patmasiriwat. Mr. Maung Maung, secretary general of the National Council of the Union of Burma, chaired this session.

The conference, in the end, provided an overview of how liberals should view the challenges posed by the current global financial crisis and how CALD, as an alliance of liberal and democratic political parties, should play the role of providing sound alternative policies and responses.

Dr. Neric Acosta, secretary general of CALD, said “This conference has been a timely meeting of minds to grapple with general pressing economic and social issues that confront our parties and countries, and to offer creative solutions to problems.”

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This post was written by CALD