Sang Anakhot Thai Party chairman Somkid Jatusripitak has urged the government to focus on maximising Thailand's regional competitiveness, as waiting until after the new general election may cost the country a good chance to keep up with its competitors.
That sentiment formed part of his special lecture on Saturday night at a homecoming event organised for alumni of Thammasat University, of whom Mr Somkid is one.
Power decentralisation is the key to success in Thailand's efforts to improve its competitiveness in Southeast Asia, an important region in the race between China and the United States, he said.
"If the government still doesn't take the importance of power decentralisation seriously, it will lose support from regional partners on the matter,'' he said.
Indonesia, meanwhile, has become one of the region's two rising stars thanks to its success in decentralising the state power to the local administrative organisations, said Mr Somkid.
Despite the sluggish global economic situation, Indonesia has maintained a steady growth of 7% on average for many years, he said, adding that that was a result of the Indonesian leader's vision and commitment turning a vision into tangible policy in recent years.
"Thailand began its own decentralisation drive around the same time but most remains in drafts of the next constitution rather than on the statute books," he said.
Neighbouring Vietnam is another rising star in the region, he said.
Vietnam is now largely benefiting from IT businesses that have moved their production bases to the country from China, he said.
Another key factor contributing to success of both Indonesia and Vietnam is that their governments were bold enough to amend over a hundred laws seen as obstacles to their work to spur economic growth, he said.
There are signs that Thailand's economy will gradually grow next year although the impact of high energy prices and inflation may linger, he said.
