This is a report of the proceedings of - Asian Strategy & Leadership ...
This is a report of the proceedings of - Asian Strategy & Leadership ...
This is a report of the proceedings of - Asian Strategy & Leadership ...
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THE ASIA THINK TANK DIALOGUE REPORTRebuilding Confidence, Restoring Livelihoods Conclusions 37In regards to healthcare, Dr. Thaksin applauded <strong>the</strong>initiative <strong>of</strong> GSK and hoped it would be followed byo<strong>the</strong>rs. Besides being a good marketing strategy, it wasalso dev<strong>is</strong>ed with good intentions as well. By extendingits tentacles deep into <strong>the</strong> village to reach <strong>the</strong> people,margins would naturally be sacrificed but th<strong>is</strong> wouldbe worth it in <strong>the</strong> long run. He hoped that as a result<strong>of</strong> leaning towards more ethical business practices,such initiatives <strong>of</strong> healthcare companies will become acommon practice in <strong>the</strong> future.Commenting on <strong>the</strong> <strong>is</strong>sues around migrant workersand <strong>the</strong> export <strong>of</strong> labour, he said migrant workers doprovide <strong>the</strong>ir home country with a form <strong>of</strong> incomethrough remittances. Both labour providing andreceiving countries, however, needed to work closelytoge<strong>the</strong>r to ensure <strong>the</strong> public, and especially interestedand potential migrant workers, knew what to expectso <strong>the</strong>y were not exploited. If <strong>the</strong> labour force did nothave access to <strong>the</strong> vital information required, <strong>the</strong>re wasa need to educate and inform <strong>the</strong>m.in terms <strong>of</strong> investment. However, <strong>the</strong> money investedshould be returned in due time as many rural families onlyrequired small margins to turn around <strong>the</strong>ir livelihoodsand improve <strong>the</strong>ir lifestyles. Providing budgets tovillagers and allowing <strong>the</strong>m to manage <strong>the</strong> money as<strong>the</strong>y w<strong>is</strong>h based on <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir projects would beone <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most effective ways to achieve success. Forinstance, some villages which grew rice was able to use<strong>the</strong> budget given to purchase a small rice mill, based on<strong>the</strong> consensus <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> community. Because <strong>of</strong> th<strong>is</strong> smallstep, <strong>the</strong> village would not need to sell paddy cheaplyand buy rice expensively as <strong>the</strong>y were now able toproduce rice from <strong>the</strong>ir own paddy harvest.Dr. Thaksin concluded that <strong>the</strong>re were many solutions to<strong>the</strong> problem <strong>of</strong> poverty. It was just up to <strong>the</strong> individualgovernments to seek <strong>the</strong> answers and find <strong>the</strong> politicalwill to implement programmes and monitor <strong>the</strong>irprogress. He believed that for a country to flour<strong>is</strong>h andprosper, it needed to have its citizens healthy in threeareas:As for social enterpr<strong>is</strong>e, he believed th<strong>is</strong> was a smallinvestment to small communities. Social enterpr<strong>is</strong>e wassomething that could be done easily as <strong>the</strong>re weremany success stories and case studies. For instance,Thailand’s OTOP was a case in point – projects like<strong>the</strong>se would soon expand and grow links to become acommunity <strong>of</strong> entrepreneurs. In some social enterpr<strong>is</strong>es,government may need to provide funding ass<strong>is</strong>tance• Physical health,• Mental health• Intellectual healthIf <strong>the</strong>se indicators were strong, that country would havecitizens <strong>of</strong> vitality and quality and th<strong>is</strong> would allow <strong>the</strong>country to grow, not just economically but also socially.Standing: L-R: Ms Jean Wong, SVP <strong>of</strong> ASLI, Dr. Omkar Shrestha, Dr. Josef T. Yap, Dr. Ar<strong>is</strong> Ananta, Mr. Benjamin Quinones, Mr.Low Tuck Seng, Dr. Raymond Atje, Mr. Partha Rudra, Mr. Adrian Foo, Dr. Thomas Tang, Dr. S. Manivasakan. Sitting: L-R: VinodB. Sekhar, President & Group Chief Executive, Petra Group, Dr Den<strong>is</strong>on Jayasooria, Ambassador Jiang Chengzong, Dr ThaksinShinawatra, Mr Sam Moon, Dr Partha Rudra, Mr Michael Switow.