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18Q&A SessionTHE ASIA THINK TANK DIALOGUE REPORTRebuilding Confidence, Restoring LivelihoodsMr. Low Tuck-SengManaging Director, Frey Capital, Switzerland.Speaking from a European perspective, Mr. Lowurged policymakers and politicians around theworld to convey to the population that the currentdownturn was expected to be a long-drawn affairand would pose serious problems. There was a needto recognize how sharply economies had turneddownwards. For instance, a country such as Icelandnow required IMF assistance, and the crisis hasbrought down the Prime Minister of Belgium; in factthe rescue of a leading financial institution, Fortis,has strained the tripartite Governments. The UnitedKingdom could also be a “basket case”, with 1.3trillion pounds of personal debt incurred. Monieswere currently being lost in insane quantities andthe rich as well as the governments of rich countriesdid not have a clue as to what to do. Mr. Low wasof the view that the US would face problems ofa different nature in battling this crisis but in theEU, where one single currency was in use, policieswould have a serious impact on the global economy.There have been talks with Asia in the context ofregional partnerships, recognizing that the flow oftrade and investment between the EU and Asia wasindeed very vital.In the next two years, he said, governments wouldbe talking about monetary wars instead of tradewars as nationalism will increase especially in Europe.He pointed out the significance of this in terms ofits impact on the poor. Many European nations hadnot fulfilled their obligations towards OGA and heplanned to introduce some ideas at the micro-levelon what could be done by certain institutions tomake an impact in Europe. The area he was lookingat primarily was healthcare and he cited theexample of how GlaxoSmithKline had initiatedways of addressing drug distribution globally, withphenomenal potential impact.In terms of intellectual and monetary reserves, hebelieved many countries would continue to investcarelessly, unless they understood what sovereignfunds really meant. He urged that they review theirrole, instead of buying more trophy assets abroad.The billions used could actually be directed elsewhereto address fundamental needs and problems, not onlywithin individual countries but also across the region.Dr. Durga P. PaudyalDirector General, Centre on Integrated RuralDevelopment for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP),Bangladesh.Dr. Paudyal’s main contribution was to take aleaf from lessons learnt by Asian countries. Hespoke of the need to control corruption and promoteaccountability and transparency in state institutions.Infrastructure, he argued, was paid for by the poorwho were unable to enjoy it. The regulatory systemwas expected to function better in order to get qualityoutput from investments. Quality auditing proceduresremained imperative in strengthening institutions andin this regard, Asia needed to follow the examples setby the West.Dr. Thomas TangExecutive Director, Global Institute for Tomorrow(GIFT), Hong Kong.Dr. Tang cautioned the delegates against turningthe discussion into paranoia, noting that thecurrent crisis was also due to the failings of countries.He argued that the fact that Asian countries hadbecome manufacturing factories was due to thedesire for capitalism instilled in these countries.Nevertheless, he said, the global meltdown hadprovided Asia with an opportunity to take stock ofits role in the global system and to review the meritsof it being a huge manufacturing base which hadits limitations. He called for Asia to look atsustainability seriously, or it would be recycling the
THE ASIA THINK TANK DIALOGUE REPORTRebuilding Confidence, Restoring Livelihoods Q&A Session 19L-R: Dr. Denison Jayasooria; Ambassador Jiang Chengzong; Dr. Aris Ananta; Dr. S. Manivasakan.same problems being faced right now in the future.There remained also a number of important areasdemanding closer review and action such as landreforms, food chains, rural development and theneed to look at appropriate industries that wouldhave long-term benefit and did not merely provideshort-term relief from the crisis.Dr. Aris AnantaSenior Research Fellow, ISEAS, Singapore.Like other speakers, Dr. Ananta believed thecurrent economic crisis would further aggravatepoverty and therefore, he argued for solutionsbeyond the short-term fix. He called for thinkingaround a new paradigm. The Great Depression,he said, had created new economic theories suchas Keynesian, and Dr. Ananta wondered if thereshould be a fresh new paradigm and whether thecurrent dialogue would provide a good opportunityto get inputs into the thinking behind such aparadigm.Mr. Sam MoonActing Executive Director Building a Better FutureFoundation, Hong Kong.Mr. Moon drew the delegates’ attention toprojects of social enterprise, one of whichwas in Cambodia, focusing on rice. A pilot projectrequiring loans to get rice planters and producers offthe ground, this project will subsequently be adoptedby business communities. If successful over a year, itwould be replicated and multiplied.He cited the environment, healthcare and educationas part of the multitude of factors requiring attentiontoday. In the current financial tsunami, the plight ofthe poor was easily forgotten. The issues of climatechange and environmental sustainability were alsopriorities to be managed, he said. He noted thework done by Dr. Thaksin who had focused on thepoor primarily while in office, and he hoped for hiscontinuing assistance in poverty-eradication at theregional level. He urged stakeholders to discuss theissues in-depth, and develop concrete ideas for theFoundation.
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