M.R. Sukhumbhand ends term as CALD Chair

March 4, 2004 4:02 am Published by Leave your thoughts

(Kaohsiung, Taiwan/ March 4, 2004)  M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, MP, ends his two-year term as Chairman of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. Below is the full text of his farewell address during the turn-over ceremonies:


H.E. President Chen Chui-Bian

Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to be here, to participate in the Liberal International Asia Conference on “Democratic Consolidation and the Role of Political Parties”, and also to hand over the chairmanship of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, or CALD, to the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, to no less a person than H. E. President Chen Shui-Bian, Chairman of DPP.

The Thai Delegation and myself have brought with us warm greetings and best wishes from the leadership of the Democratic Party of Thailand, in particular H. E. Chuan Leekpai, former prime minister and party leader, H. E. Banyat Bantadtan, the present party leader, and H. E. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the first Chairman of CALD. They, and also many other of our party members, would dearly love to be here. But we are all caught up in a long season of elections, both national and local, which will stretch beyond the year’s end into 2005. Their absence is the kind of occupational hazard that is quite familiar to democratic political parties in democracies!

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

As perhaps most members of this distinguished audience know, CALD was born just over ten years ago, in Bankok in December 1993. Underlying the launching of CALD was the belief that Asian liberal and democratic parties, despite their diversity, should more closely and systematically work with one another to promote liberal-democratic values, principles and practices.

Since then, some CALD member parties have come and gone. A few continue to experience immense domestic constraints on their political activities. But as an organization, CALD has grown from strength to strength, in the process proving the early skeptics and doubters wrong. Now our party membership is eight strong, consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, the Liberal Party of Philippines, Parti Gerakan Rakyat of Malaysia, the Singapore Democratic Party, the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, the National Council of the Union of Burma and the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia, plus of course the Democrat Party of Thaila5nd. We have a very distinguished individual member, the Hon. Martin Lee of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong.

Equally as important as our membership is our networking. CALD is a very active participant in worldwide networks of liberal-democratic activities. Our conferences and meetings are often attended by non-members, including representatives of other political parties in Asia, especially from Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, India and Pakistan. We have collaborated with Liberal International, the European Liberal, Democratic and Reform Parties Group (ELDR), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs ( NDI ) of Washington, D. C., and last but not least, the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung of Germany. Through this networking, many issues of great substantive importance to liberal democracy were addressed, including political parties, election, democratictization, communications, sustainable growth, poverty eradication, and wealth creation.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I believe that CALD can rightly be proud of its progress and achievements. But I also believe that it must not rest on its laurels, that it must even more actively and purposefully forge ahead in its task of promoting liberal-democratic values, principles and practices.

CALD was born in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War’s end. At that juncture, international and regional environments were conducive to the promotion and propagation of democracy.

Now, ten years later, in the aftermath of 9/11, we live in a vastly different world. In the global fight against international terrorism, all too often ends are invoked to justify the means. All too often democratic processes are ignored. Democracy has suffered setbacks. Stronger are the propensities towards authoritarianism in domestic politics and violation of international law in international politics.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

True liberal democrats must endeavor to reverse these trends. True liberal democrats must endeavor to revive faith in democracy, to revive the belief that, if democracy is to be true democracy, means do matter, and matter just as much as ends. As I have often said in the part, in our effort to fight against dictators and terrorists, we liberal-democrats should not allow ends to justify all means and hence reduce ourselves to being but cheap imitations of those whom we are engaged in fighting. We must never allow ourselves to be dictators and terrorists dressed in cloaks of liberal-democracy.

This is precisely why I believe CALD has an immensely important role to play, through collaboration with like-minded institutions and individuals, in promoting democracy and addressing democracy’s challenges in the democratic way.

I am certain that, under the DPP’s leadership, CALD can purposefully and effectively undertake this task. This is why I feel singularly privileged to be here to hand over CALD’s chairmanship to the DPP, in the person of H. E. President Chen Shui-bian.

It remains for me to express my profound gratitude to all friends and colleagues, who have worked with me over the last 16 months, who have tolerated—often in very good humor – the errors of my way, and who have contributed so much to the CALD process. In particular, I would like to thank all the CALD members; the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, without whose generous support CALD would not have progressed this far; the NDI, Liberal International and the ELDR; John Coronel, the able and hardworking Executive Director of CALD and all the able and hardworking members of the CALD Secretariat; and, last but not least, my own Democrat Party, which committed a rare error of judgment in suggesting that my name be proposed for this position.

I also would like to take this opportunity to thank H.E. President Chen Shui-bian and the DPP for their generous hospitality on this occasion.

Once upon a time, I was an academic. So let me end by saying something similar to what most good academics do in the preface to their books.

If over the last 16 months CALD has achieved significant progress, I would like to dedicate all the credits to the friends and colleagues I just mentioned. On the other hand, should there be sins of commission or omission in the conduct of CALD’s activities, the error is mine, and mine alone.

Thank you.

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