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Surapong Suebwonglee: democracy and progress for Thailand |
It’s fair to say that a lot of people were sceptical about your appointment as finance minister, given your professional background as a doctor and lack of a track record in economic management. What would you say to people who think you’re not qualified?
It’s nice to let people underestimate you. I would remind people that my background is not only medical: I graduated from business school at the oldest university in Thailand, I’ve studied at top schools overseas and I sat in the cabinet of the Thaksin administration for five years and discussed policies. It’s not all as new to me as some people think.
From talking to people at the ADB meeting and listening to the presentations, it seems that inflation is the chief worry across large swathes of Asia at the moment. How worried are you in Thailand about inflation, and what measures are you going to use to fight it?
In our case, inflation is occurring not because of demand or cost-push but because of the rising prices of oil and commodities; Thailand is a net importer of oil but we are an exporter of rice and agricultural products, so we’re not as affected by rising food prices as some.
