A visit with the Malaysian prime minister

During a big international conference like the East Asian summit that ended yesterday in Cha Am, the Bangkok Post’s Editor-in-chief Pichai Chuensuksawadi is a busy man. During this summit, for example, he conducted a lengthy exclusive interview with Japan’s new prime minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Yesterday, he talked with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (photo) who will visit Bangkok in early December before joining Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on a tour of the three southernmost provinces.

During his interview with Mr Pichai, Mr Najib sounded optimistic that the troubles in this restive region could be overcome.

‘‘He [Mr Abhisit] has invited me to go to the South. It will be very interesting and probably will give me an opportunity to talk to the leaders in the South . . . [and] examine the situation on the ground,’’ Mr Najib told Mr Pichai yesterday.

Malaysia will continue to support Thailand in any way it can ‘‘in a transparent manner’’, he said.

Malaysia would like to see ‘‘a real positive’’ resolution of the problem, Mr Najib said. He added that he thought the difficulties were not insurmountable if there was proper engagement with the people.

A resolution of the violence and extremism can occur if the Thai government engages with ‘‘the right people’’ and acknowledges that it can and should address legitimate grievances.

Mr Najib said he was not calling for independence for the region.

‘‘That is totally out of the question. It must be within the Thai constitution,’’ he said. A lasting resolution is a question of trust — ‘‘trust and, eventually, winning the hearts and minds of the people in the South.

Once the majority of the people are with you, then you can eliminate the extremists.

‘‘Religion is a very integral part of the society of the three southernmost provinces,” Mr Najib continued. “They are deeply committed to their way of life and religion is the mainstay of their way of life.

‘‘If we understand the needs of the community there, I am sure things can be worked out. The bottom line is that I am positive it is do-able,’’ the Malaysian prime minister said.

summit – a meeting or a series of meetings between leaders of two or more countries การประชุมสุดยอด
conduct –to carry out —ดำเนิน
exclusive – limited to only one person or group of people แต่ผู้เดียว
optimistic – expecting good things to happen or to be successful โดยคาดหวังสิ่งที่ดี
restive – (of a group of people) impatient or becoming difficult to control because they are dissatisfied วุ่นวาย ไม่สงบ ควบคุมยาก ดื้อรั้น หัวแข็ง
overcome – to succeed in controlling or dealing with something ต่อสู้อุปสรรคจนสำเร็จสำมารถดำเนินการต่อไปได้
transparent – not keeping anything secret; open โปร่งใส
manner – way วิธีการ
positive – (1) good ที่ดี (2) certain and without any doubt แน่ใจ
resolution – a solution to a problem, a satisfactory way of dealing with a problem  การแก้ไขปัญหา
insurmountable – (especially of a problem or a difficulty) so great that it cannot be dealt with successfully ซึ่งไม่อาจจัดการได้
engagement – being involved in something การพัวพันอยู่กับ
extremism – when someone has beliefs which most people think are unreasonable and unacceptable การนิยมวิธีการที่รุนแรง
address – to deal with a problem จัดการปัญหา
legitimate – reasonable and acceptable ถูกต้องสมควร
grievances – complaints about being treated in an unfair way ความคับข้องใจ
majority – most of the people in a group คนส่วนใหญ่
eliminate – to get rid of completely กำจัดหรือขจัดให้หมดไป
integral – necessary and important ซึ่งเป็นส่วนจำเป็น
committed – loyal and willing to give your time and energy to something that you believe in
mainstay – the most important part of something, providing support for everything else  หลักสำคัญ

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 08:56 AM

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