Surin Pitsuwan: remembering a good and great man

THE sudden demise on Nov 30 of former Thai foreign minister, deputy prime minister and Asean secretary-general, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, deeply saddened those worldwide who knew him and is certainly a great loss to Thailand and the international community.
An intellectual, scholar, diplomat, politician, writer and speaker par excellence and, above all, a man of uncompromising integrity and a wonderful gentleman, made knowing and interacting with Pitsuwan a profound privilege and pleasure.
I first got to know Surin in 2002, when the International Labour Organisation (ILO) invited him to serve on the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation – I was then the ILO regional deputy director for Asia and the Pacific, based in Bangkok.
He was one of 26 independent commissioners worldwide, comprising heads of state, a Nobel laureates, politicians, academics, social and economic experts, captains of industry and civic and labour activists.
Surin, among others, insisted the commission did extensively engage in and listen to men and women at grassroots level and their simple and legitimate aspirations for decent work and a better future for their children; and comes up within a relatively short timeframe with practical and actionable outputs that were fair, inclusive and doable, even if difficult, in countries and communities where the need was critical.
Otherwise, as he put it, "It will be a lot of useful time and effort going into yet another exercise in futility, with highfalutin generalisations but little impact on people struggling to make a living and better their children's lives."
What he said speaks for itself of the man.
He was a Thai-Malay Muslim, son of an Islamic religious teacher from Nakhon Si Thammarat, a southern province in Thailand, from where he was elected to the Thai parliament. Perhaps, not many know his full name: Surin Abdul Halim bin Ismail Pitsuwan.
He once said that for a "boy starting from religious schools in a remote corner of a distant land" to enter the portals of the prestigious Harvard University, US (where he completed his PhD in 1982, his dissertation entitled Islam and Malay Nationalism), was a dream come true, only made possible given the wide opportunities and support by his country and the cooperation of several international organisations.
Surin's outstanding personal qualities and abilities made him clearly Thai prime minister-in-waiting, although he was from the minority Muslim community in a 95% Buddhist majority nation.
But, a series of unfortunate political developments denied him becoming his nation's head of government.
In 2004, Surin was informally given wide international support and considered to be among front-runners to succeed Kofi Annan as UN secretary-general, but regrettably, he did not receive support from the then Thai government because Surin's party was then the main opposition.
In retrospect, Thailand's and the UN's loss was Asean's gain when Surin was appointed Asean secretary-general in 2007.
During his five-year tenure, he advocated the regional bloc to take a more activist role, especially on human rights violations. This was most visible in his engagement with Myanmar, which gradually took steps towards reforms.
He is credited with helping establish greater economic, political and social cohesion among Asean's 10 member nations and in elevating Asean as a sought-after grouping among world powers vying for a share of the region's enormous potential.
During Thailand's earlier Asean chairmanship in 1999, Surin led Southeast Asia's efforts to help restore law and order in the East Timor crisis.
Surin was preparing to do something always close to his heart, to speak at the Thailand Halal Assembly 2017 in Bangkok, when he collapsed and was later pronounced dead from an acute heart attack. His body was buried at the Tha-it masjid in Nonthaburi after a religious ceremony at his house.
In a rare gesture of honour and condolence, His Majesty the King of Thailand sent royally blessed soil and a wreath of flowers to the funeral, while many foreign diplomats, representatives of the government and several civic and religious organisations and politicians – past and present – from all sides came to pay their last respects.

All that, and for one not officially a head of government or state, the vast messages of condolences from governments across the globe and international organisations is indeed reflective of Surin Pitsuwn's legacy, not only in his homeland but truly a world citizen, based on the principles of honesty, equality, the common good, justice, security, reconciliation and peace that he stood for and exemplified.
In the words of Longfellow: "Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time."
Rueben Dudley
Petaling Jaya