Ambassador sees ebb and flow
Written by Admin on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
IN SIGHT
Ambassador sees ebb and flow
Thailand is in some ways a land transformed since the UK’s ambassador to Thailand, Quinton Quayle, first arrived here almost 30 years ago, but in other respects the patterns are strangely familiar
ERIKA FRY
When British Ambassador Quinton Quayle was first posted with the British Embassy in Bangkok, the big names in Thai politics were Samak Sundaravej, Banharn Silpa-archa, and Prem Tinsulanonda, and there was a bitter and ongoing dispute on the Thai-Cambodian border.
That was 1979 - when Quayle was assigned to the political desk in Bangkok, just barely into his career with Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
So it was a bit eerie, maybe even “remarkable”, that when Quayle returned to the embassy 28 years later, as an ambassador (with his own blog) this time, the political landscape was not much different.
In the intervening years, he did stints and mastered languages in France, Indonesia and Romania; he worked twice in the private sector; and the British FCO instituted blogging.
“It’s remarkable coming back to see those figures still very prominent,” he says. “And it’s quite funny to come back again and see the border situation is a big issue.” It’s also telling of Quayle’s insights on the last three decades in Thai history.
“The political system to be honest has really not developed significantly. Thailand still has this cycle of democratic, rather unstable governments interrupted from time to time by coups leading to autocratic but more stable regimes.
“Thais have gotten used to it, but it is noteworthy that while other developing countries have progressed out of that cycle, Thailand hasn’t yet done that.”
That’s not to say he’s noticed no change at all. People were afraid of Thailand’s Communists in those days.
And of course, there has been at least one new powerful Thai political figure to surface (and slink away to England) since then, and though Quayle preferred not to comment on him, he’s stimulated an unusual amount of activity at the embassy in recent weeks.
In response to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s flight to England on August 18, thousands of People’s Alliance for Democracy demonstrators marched on the British Embassy the next day, to deliver Ambassador Quayle a letter calling on London to refuse asylum for Mr Thaksin and his wife Potjaman. The episode stopped traffic for four hours outside the embassy in a central Bangkok shopping district, and the letter was relayed to Mr Quayle by an embassy messenger.
Then, as was the case when I called early last week, the embassy declined comment other than to say that the matter would be handled in London.
I first interviewed Mr Quayle four weeks ago, before these events, when he did not want to comment on Mr Thaksin’s legal troubles. At that time, he had this to say: “All I would say is that we’re pleased Mr Thaksin has invested in the UK, in his football club. I think he’s done quite a lot to raise the profile of Thailand in the UK. We have a very open and liberal attitude toward investment.”
Despite the recent events (and another little legal dust-up between Tesco and some Thai journalists), Mr Quayle emphasises the long, strong bonds between the UK and Thailand thanks to the countries’ common royal traditions, as well as 153 years of diplomatic relations.
Mr Quayle notes that His Majesty King Bhumibol and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth are the two longest-serving monarchs in the world.
The countries also have strong economic ties. The UK is the EU’s largest investor in Thailand, as well as the largest market for Thai exports. After the UK, Thailand serves as the second-largest country market for British companies, Tesco (UK’s largest investor here) and Boots, while companies like BG Group, which extracts natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand, and Standard Chartered Bank have enjoyed long and happy histories doing business here.
Regarding the row over the libel cases, in which Tesco has filed against Thai journalists for criticising its big-box retailer influence, Quayle again declined to comment on the particulars. However, he considers Tesco’s presence in Thailand - which amounts to 2 billion dollars, 500 stores and around 30,000 employees - “a success story”.
He explained that Tesco reinvests all the profits from its Thai stores into future stores and projects in the country.
“This is a huge boost to the economy of Thailand because it makes the retail sector more competitive,” he says. “Tesco is not looking to drive out of business small retailers - what they are trying to do is to make a more efficient supply chain so that the consumer has better quality at a lower prices.”
He believes many small Thai retailers have also benefited by this supply of cheaper, quality goods, while others have profited by opening stalls in the Tesco mall.
“Tesco has done a tremendous amount to help the community through schools and the environment. I think they’re doing a lot of good here.”
Thai investors are also increasingly common in Britain. Besides the ex-prime minister’s dealings with Man City, ThaiBev company recently bought several distilleries in Scotland for distilling malt whiskey, and Landmark Hotel group invested in a London hotel, says Quayle.
Economic fast track
In contrast to his feeling that in some ways time has stood still politically in Thailand, Mr Quayle says he is quite impressed with the country’s rapid economic development.
“It’s tremendous, actually, the way the infrastructure has been put together in Bangkok and the big cities. The skytrain, the expressways, the underground, the fantastic hotels, the restaurants that are here …. The figures speak for themselves in terms of the expansion of the economy in the 80s and 90s.
“Thailand is now a very major producer of cars, of hard disks as well as traditional gods. That’s based really on the skill and hard work of the Thai people.”
He credits this ethic for Thailand’s success in attracting and keeping British investors, and cites the case of Triumph Motorcycles, a once ailing British brand that started producing its plastic fuel tanks in Thailand several years ago.
The operation was so successful and Triumph so pleased with its “skilled and flexible” Thai workers, says Quayle, that the company expanded its operations and now produces thousands of bikes in its three Thai factories. Triumph’s business is flourishing again, and “it’s been built on the success here in Thailand.”
At the same time, Quayle says, Thailand’s political climate over the past few years has not made it easy to attract new investors. “These companies know Thailand, know the ups and downs and they stuck through it, but new companies come in, and they do every day, and they get shocked when they see coups, bombs, protests.”
He spoke particularly of the coup and the economic policy developed in its aftermath, “A lot of damage was done to Thailand’s reputation. . . with the changes to the Foreign Business Act, the Foreign Retail Act, and the compulsory licenses.”
He adds that when competing with Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, “new money will go elsewhere.” For that reason, the “more business-friendly” economic message that came with the return to democracy and the current government has been encouraging.
On a philosophical level the return to democracy was also obviously a pleasing development for Quayle and the embassy’s political officers. “We feel very much that history will not repeat itself and the tender roots that democracy put down after 2007 elections will be allowed to flourish and we will have a period of democratic government.”
He believes the maturation of Thailand’s political system will come with the end of vote buying and a more meaningful party system. “Political parties here tend to be built around personalities,” he says. “What is really needed is to have some strong political parties with consistent strategies that clearly stand for something.”
He says trying to understand Thailand’s political situation is one of the greatest challenges of his job. “In a way the more you know, the more you don’t know - the more complicated it becomes. There’s always a layer below, so that’s interesting.”
While Quayle keeps tabs on Thailand’s political situation, he also follows the Kingdom’s external policy and its potential influence in the region.
This is particularly true in the case of Burma, which Quayle notes is of great interest to the British people for both historical and human rights reasons.
“We saw the awful events of last year, monks being attacked, and we believe Thailand is in a strong position to influence developments in Burma in a positive way,” he said, citing the ties Thailand has with Burma because of border, trade, resource, and migration issues.
“We would hope Thailand would use that influence to encourage the sort of evolution that has happened here in terms of democracy, with respect to human rights, with the establishment of democratic institutions.”
While he acknowledges Thailand’s commercial interests in Burma and the need to maintain a bilateral relationship, he expressed hope that Thailand would at the same time promote a positive political message, and remarked that Bangkok’s “statesman-like” reaction to Cyclone Nargis was promising in terms of a future role in Burma.
Tourists’ highest priority
In addition to the economic and political ties between Thailand and the UK, at any one time there are also lots of Brits in the Kingdom - one million British tourists visit Thailand each year, which Quayle points out is a “remarkable” one in every sixty British citizens.
The Ambassador considers the safety and welfare of these visitors the highest priority of the embassy, and ranks the task as one of his job’s most meaningful.
Though he was not in Thailand for the tsunami, he was one month into his ambassadorship when the tragic One-Two Go air crash, which involved a number of British tourists, occurred in Phuket. He also sees his share of less spectacular accidents, attacks, and illnesses.
“One of the things I do is try to speak up for those (British citizens’) interests,” he says, recalling a recent trip to Phuket, in which he learned of an “alarming’ number” of attacks against foreign tourists.
“The policing is really low - only 1,000 police for four to five million tourists a year - so I raised the subject with the police chief locally and the police chief here in Bangkok, to see what could be done to increase security for British tourists. We’re active on that.”
Quayle also oversees a consulate that issues over 40,000 visas (a 90% acceptance rate) to UK-bound Thais per year. “An important part of our job is to encourage Thai people to come to Britain,” he says.
A number of these are students. As Quayle notes, England is the top destination for Thais wanting to be educated in an English-speaking country.
Through the years, Mr Quayle has gotten much of his own education abroad. It’s been his policy to learn and use the language in every country he’s been posted.
“It’s a tremendous asset wherever you are if you can understand what’s going on, and you can talk to everyone you need to communicate with. If you can only speak to the English speaking sector in Thailand you’re really cutting yourself off from a vast number of people who either don’t speak English or don’t feel comfortable with it,” he says.
Mr Quayle, who speaks both Thai and Royal Thai, estimates he uses the language in 80% of his official dealings. This includes interactions with Thai embassy staff, which, for the sake of keeping up his skills, he’s instructed to speak only to him in Thai.
When not tied up with his official duties, Mr Quayle likes to play golf and travel. He has a special affinity for Chiang Mai, where he spent a year studying Thai language and where his long history in Thailand began.
Looking back on it, he notes there’s one thing he’s glad hasn’t changed: “The charm and grace of the Thai people.”
BIO DATA
Ambassador Quinton Mark Quayle was born on June 5, 1955 in England. He graduated from Bristol University, where he studied English and met his wife Alice. He also spent 6 months studying at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Quayle began his service with the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1977 in the Central and South Africa Department in London. He then worked as a political officer in Thailand. He has since been posted in London, France, and Indonesia and worked in the private sector. He was the Ambassador to Romania from 2002-2006, and began his ambassadorship to Thailand in August in 2007. He has two sons.
