Thailand holding out for a hero
In recent years, the world has grieved the loss of quite a few great people who were known for their integrity and courage. These were people who left legacies, whose lives, work and achievements inspired us and generations to come.
At least two of those great people were from Africa, a continent infested with poverty, development issues and political crises. One of them is former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan who passed away on Aug 18.
On Sunday, two major newspapers in Kenya hit the newsstands with the same wording in their headlines — “The man who saved Kenya” — which was an extremely rare media incident. The two newspapers, the Standard and Nation, recalled how Ghana-born Annan put enormous effort into bringing peace to the East African nation, then trapped in a post-election civil war that killed about a thousand, and injured and maimed tens of thousands more.
The other African hero was the late Nelson Mandela who died in 2013 at the age of 95. I don’t think I need to talk much about Mandela’s legacy which has been much discussed since his death. It also inspired the 2009 Hollywood film Invictus starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, who took the role of the South African hero.
Even Mandela’s former wife, the late Winnie who was laid to rest in April this year won recognition, though parts of her life remain controversial. She was referred to as a “heroine” despite her radical approach in the anti-apartheid movement.
Yet, many still see her as “Mother of South Africa”. Mind you, Winnie Madikizela Mandela won that status in her own right, not because of her ties to her former husband.
Back to Annan, a myriad of postmortem documents about his work have filled mainstream and social media this week. Hardly a surprise.
For one thing, his achievements as UN secretary-general — and even after he left the UN post in 2007 — have overshadowed his successor, Ban Ki-moon. The South Korean diplomat left the world body in 2016 with little to remember, so to speak.
As I went through the tributes that poured in for Annan, I couldn’t help but think about heroes in Southeast Asia and Thailand. I have to admit that it took some time to come up with the names.
Some may mention Ramon Magsaysay, former president of the Philippines. The eponymous award that was set up after his passing is akin to the Nobel Prize for Southeast Asia.
Another on the list could be a homegrown diplomat, the late Thanat Khoman (1914-2016), who was a driving force, together with his counterparts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, in forming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 1967. The regional grouping successfully thwarted the domino effect of the Indochina war from spreading to the rest of the region.
In recent history, Thailand has been proud of Surin Pitsuwan, a scholar turned politician, who was the first non-bureaucrat to be named Asean secretary-general in 2008.
Yet, Surin had several successes before that. One of his outstanding feats, during his tenure as Thai foreign minister, was his endeavour in convincing Southeast Asian leaders to get involved in bringing about peace and security to Timor Leste.
It is not hyperbole to say Surin’s sudden passing last year was a great loss not only to Thailand but also the region, if not the world.
Surin was said to be a potential candidate for the UN’s top position when Annan left office in 2006. But he had no chance to shine due to political factors and, for that reason, his role was limited to the regional level despite his high calibre.
Since this piece is not an obituary column, I think I should mention some living legends.
We should be aware that Africa has a list of high-profile candidates. One of them is Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame who has steered the tiny country towards economic growth and away from its genocidal past.
Closer to home, it’s probably Aung San Suu Kyi, a freedom fighter and Nobel laureate, who was once close to that legendary status. However, after her landslide election win in 2015 people have started to become disillusioned with her after her handling of the Rakhine crisis.
In reality, we all know we need more Mandelas and Annans in this region and in this country. But, looking around, many appear resigned to the fact that although there are many leaders, there are very few heroes.