Media statement by Lim Guan Eng in Komtar, George Town on Wednesday, 13^th June 2012: 

Former Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to speak at the inaugural conference of the ASEAN Coalition for Clean Governance in Penang 

I am proud to announce that Penang will be the host of the inaugural conference of the ASEAN Coalition for Clean Governance, an initiative that aims to bring together proponents of good and clean governance from around the region in order to raise awareness, discuss and exchange experiences on this important issue.

The conference will be organised by the Penang Institute and is themed, “What enables clean governance in democracies? ASEAN perspectives” and will be held as follows:

Date: 25 June 2012
Time: 11.30am to 10.00pm
Venue: Eastern & Oriental Hotel

I am also happy to announce that Mr Abhisit Vejjajiva, former Prime Minister of Thailand and current Opposition Leader, will be delivering the keynote address at the conference. Abhisit is of course a strong proponent of good governance. In 2006, when snap elections were called by then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, Abhisit stated that he was "prepared to become a prime minister who adheres to the principles of good governance and ethics, not authoritarianism." Later that year, he opposed the military when it overthrew Thaksin in a coup.

On 17 December 2008, Abhisit was elected by the majority in Parliament as the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand after the Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and the executives of the governing People's Power Party were found guilty of electoral fraud in the 2007 elections and were disqualified from holding political office for five years. At age 44, he was the country's youngest prime minister in more than 60 years.

Other prominent leaders who will be speaking at the conference include Professor Anwar Nasution, former Head of the Indonesian Audit Board (equivalent to Auditor-General in Malaysia); Mdm Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, a former congresswoman and now recently-elected Chairperson of the Akbayan Party in the Philippines who recently played a principal role in the impeachment of Chief Justice Corona; Datuk Paul Low, President of Transparency International Malaysia; and Mr Donald Low from Singapore, who was formerly Director of Fiscal Policy in the Ministry of Finance as well as Director of Strategic Policy in the Prime Minister’s Office.

This conference symbolises Penang's role and commitment as the forerunner of clean, good and efficient governance in Malaysia. Since 2008, our efforts in implementing open competitive tenders, publicly declaring the assets of the entire state executive council including the Chief Minister and passing the Freedom of Information Enactment have earned us praise not only from the annual Auditor-General's Reports but also from the world-famous anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International.

Now, we wish to go a step further by championing and promoting the CAT principles of Competency, Accountability and Transparency on a regional scale. This is especially relevant today, when increasing democratisation in the region has seen a demand for good and clean governance. Today, the people of ASEAN are no long content to accept governments that are dirty, corrupt and who threaten and abuse their power. Today, the people of ASEAN no longer accept governments that partake in vote-rigging and vote-buying, and who think nothing of using threats and violence against its own citizens who are merely exercising their constitutional rights.

Greater regional collaboration in the area of clean governance is timely and necessary. However, in order to spread the practice of clean governance throughout ASEAN, merely wishing for it is not enough. We must build institutions around the principles of clean governance, such as by institutionalising open competitive tenders, full disclosure of government contracts made with the private sector, and the public declaration of assets by public office-bears such as ministers and chief ministers.

Hence, Penang Institute hopes that this conference will not only help each other to learn from the experiences of other ASEAN member states, but also to increase awareness on the need for clean governance, as well as to spark more exchange and discussion on this important issue.

*Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister