ISIS PAYS TRIBUTE TO ‘BRIDGE-BUILDER’ SURIN
He was Asean’s champion-in-chief, says director
THE Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Isis) Malaysia mourns the death of former Asean secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Surin Pitsuwan.
In a moving tribute posted on its homepage and penned by its Foreign Policy and Security Studies director Elina Noor, Isis said the former Thai foreign minister was a bridge-builder.
“To Southeast Asia’s foreign policy community, Surin was a consummate statesman — thoughtful, eloquent, humble, and always ready with a warm, genuine smile.”
“As Asean’s champion-in-chief, he was the organisation’s and region’s tireless advocate, who, on many occasions, continued to brandish a pocket copy of the Asean Charter long after he had served as secretary-general,” Elina said, referring to his long association with Asean.
Elina described Surin as an inspiration to youth.
“His impassioned speeches about regionalism, done so often that he rarely needed a prepared text, brought Asean to life for so many younger policymakers.
“He was one of the few who could inject a real sense of optimism and vibrancy to an unfortunately and unfairly, often maligned organisation.
“The star-struck look and hanging jaws of many of the 20- and 30-something year old attendees when Surin spoke at a regional forum on Asean that Isis Malaysia convened only a few months ago affirmed his ‘rockstar’ status,” she said.
Elina said Surin was a great friend to Isis during his two decade-long association with the organisation.
“He spared time for our events and penned his views in our recent publication on the future of Asean. ‘Busy people usually deliver on their promise’, he wrote in his email to us. You could almost see him wink, reading that line,” she added.
Elina said Surin never wore his faith on his sleeve, but never shied away from his identity, either.
“He was a Thai Muslim, American-educated and a scholar of the Middle East.
“He was equally at ease serving his home province in southern Thailand as he was resolving crises from the cosmopolitan capitals of Bangkok, Jakarta, and New York,” she said, adding that Surin was pivotal in promoting understanding, peace, security, stability and conciliation.
“Surin embodied the ideals and promise of Southeast Asia.
“So many of us in the region were privileged and honoured to have called him a mentor, colleague, and friend,” she said, adding that he would be missed.
The staff and management of the institute recorded their grief over the 68-year-old diplomat’s death from heart failure on Nov 30.
“May his soul live in everlasting peace with the Almighty.
“Words cannot fully express our deepest sympathies, which go to the family and friends of Surin in this dark hour.
“May we, however, celebrate his life and strive to achieve his dream of a united, peaceful and prosperous Southeast Asia,” said a note that preceded Elina’s tribute.
Isis joined other international groups, including Asean and governments, such as Malaysia, in offering their condolences.
US State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said the Harvard-educated Surin was “a tireless champion of the Thai people, an eloquent advocate for all of Southeast Asia, and a dear friend of the United States”.
She added that Surin “stood staunchly for democratic values”.
Surin served as Thailand’s foreign minister from 1997 to 2001 under a Democrat Party-led government.
He is best known for his time in helming the regional bloc from 2008 to 2012.
WE saw the passing of statesman, scholar and diplomat extraordinaire Dr Surin Pitsuwan on Thursday. Born Abdul Halim Ismail on Oct 28, 1949, the son of Pondok Ban Tan in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand, Surin broke with tradition. Instead of the usual religious studies in “Kedah, Kelantan, Mecca, Cairo or Indonesia”, as he put it, he moved abroad as a high-school student in Minnesota, the United States, on an American Field Service exchange scholarship in 1967-68.
He later returned to Bangkok to attend Thammasat University, and subsequently went to Harvard University, where he obtained his master’s degree and doctorate in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies.
Surin was, and still easily is, the public face of Asean. He was Asean secretary-general from July 2007 to December 2012. Contrary to convention, Surin took an activist role and was involved in the peace process as facilitator and negotiator in the region. Writing in the op-ed page of this newspaper on June 17, 2011, he articulated the future of the region. He expressed a clear vision of Asean’s direction, hopeful of more innovative breakthroughs as it develops into an integrated, open, peaceful and outward-looking region.
He again narrated on peace at the recent two-day 4th World Conference on Islamic Thought and Civilisation (WCIT 2017), organised by Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah (USAS) in Ipoh, from Nov 20 onwards. After the opening of the Conference by Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir announced that the state government was mulling the setting-up of the Islamic Centre for Global Peace and Non-Violence at USAS in Kuala Kangsar, probably with Surin “to be appointed as the first chairman of the centre”. The proposal was among the motions tabled at the end of the conference.
Early in the conference, Surin in his capacity as former Asean secretary-general spoke on Global Peace, during the distinguished session following the Royal Keynote by the sultan. That was probably one of his last speaking engagements.
In the 3rd WCIT in 2016, also in Ipoh, he spoke of love, hate and extremism, making constant reference to “Perak Darul Ridzuan” — literally the abode of peace. He related that in his capacity as politician and diplomat, a government minister and as a Muslim, he felt a personal sense of responsibility to get Muslims to be engaged in peace and peace building.
His upbringing as budak pondok (reference to his religious school upbringing), through his sojourn at Harvard and other notable learning institutions, and his position as a minority in Thailand, and the “burden of being different from the rest of the budak pondoks” have somehow, in his own words, “guided, motivated and inspired me for the past 40 years in public service”.
On Islamophobia, he reminded us that half of it “is our problem”. He asked could Muslims be the “force of motivation, innovation and the light of our forefathers during the time of Harun alRashid were the light of the world, when Europe was still in the dark (ages)”. The 1.5 billion Muslims should be that enlightened part of humanity. He had called on Muslims to redeem Islam in celebrating the diversity of opinion among the community, in not harbouring narrow and oppressive authorities. Diversity, differences and multiplicity need to be allowed.
He cited the sage and poet Jalaluddin Rumi, who, 700 years ago, alluded to change. Rumi had written that “merchants of old goods are gone, people who use to pedal outdated concepts, ideas and habit are gone, we are the new vendors, this is our bazaar”. The 21st century world is the bazaar that belongs to all. “Are we going through the old habit of thought?” he asked.
Surin’s career speaks for itself. His varied accomplishments from deputy prime minister and foreign minister to his stewardship of Asean are remarkable. He would have been the secretarygeneral of the United Nations, but Thai national politics and that fate were not on his side.
The internationalist that he was, the urbane Harvard-educated Surin was, at the same time, rooted in his community. Some years ago, I was at Pondok Ban Tan, his family’s madrasah,
750km south of Bangkok. There he told us — in his usually articulate American accented English — that the village surrounding the Pondok was populated by Malays from Kedah some 300 years ago. The consciousness of the notion of “homeland” is the larger extent of the Malay world. He grew up with the notion of Malaysia as the centre of the Malay world, and that the Pondok, was located at the periphery, in an environment much configured by the geopolitics of post colonialism and nationhood.
I last met Surin in Ipoh on Nov 20 recently after his session on global peace. I asked him, by way of an initial invitation, of being an eminent fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and International Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He reaction was “Please write to me, write to me, and I will respond”.
Al-Fatihah.
Contrary to convention, Surin took an activist role and was involved in the peace process as facilitator and negotiator in the region.