THAILAND

Tarisa says political, social change required, wants to see a "growing-up process"

Tarisa Watanagase is preparing to step down after nearly four years as Bank of Thailand governor, warning that violent splits in society mean the kingdom's future relies on more than just financial stability.

Ms Tarisa, said new political and social thinking was needed in a nation still reeling from protests that rocked Bangkok in April and May.

"If you look at the economic front, we have been through some major reforms and that is why right now we are resilient, but in terms of politics we haven't yet seen major reforms," she said.

"I think this is part of the growing-up process."

Ms Tarisa, the first female governor in the Bank of Thailand's history and one of just three in the position worldwide, is no stranger to forging her own path through Thailand's tumultuous political landscape.

Petite and glamorous, the governor has a ready smile that in no way hides the streak of steel with which she has helped to oversee the Thai economy in one way or another since 1975, when she joined the central bank.

She counts one of her greatest  achievements  assecuring independence for the central bank in the face of persistent resistance.

After a decade-long battle, she helped push through laws giving the institution freedom from political interference in the wake of the 2006 coup that overthrew former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

But Ms Tarisa is clearly disappointed that the economic progress the country has made has not been replicated in a political system prone to accusations of corruption, scandal and military interference.

"I would like to see that we can migrate from a developing country to a developed one, and that does not require only economic progress," she said.

The bank was relieved that the fallout from the red shirt anti-government protests - in which 91 people died and nearly 1,900 were injured - was not more serious.

Tourists, initially daunted by images of violent clashes between the military and demonstrators in Bangkok, are slowly returning while foreign investment has also proved buoyant. But Ms Tarisa warned against becoming complacent and said the country needed to work hard for political stability. Not to do so, she said, would be a "terrible waste".

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has announced a reconciliation plan but the country remains deeply divided.

The two main protest movements contrast as starkly in their choice of clothing colour - red for one group, yellow for the other - as they do in their political leanings.

Ms Tarisa said dialogue, a more socially minded attitude and moves to address inequality - a key red shirt demand - were crucial for the country's progress.

The 60-year-old is proud of policies - many implemented from lessons learned in the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s - that have enabled Thailand to ride out the global recession with respectable resilience.

Unlike their counterparts in the West, she said Thai banks were already highly focused on managing risk before the global financial devastation triggered by the 2008 collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.

Even the more vulnerable export sector, which slumped about 30% in the immediate aftermath, has weathered the storm, helped by increased demand from China, India and other emerging markets.

The Japan and US-educated central banker, who also spent several years as an economist for the International Monetary Fund, believes her gender has not been particularly relevant in her career, but she has faced some prejudice.

"When I first became the governor there was some mocking in a newspaper about having a female governor, especially when policies were not to their liking," she said.

Her predecessor at the bank, MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, had a brief political sojourn as finance minister for the interim government after the coup.

But Ms Tarisa insists she has no plans for her next challenge - finance is out of the question during a two-year "cooling off" period - although she does not expect to "go into 100% retirement".

She expects her successor, former Kasikornbank   president   Prasarn Trairatvorakul, to take a "fresh look" at the central bank.

And as she looks to her own future, Ms Tarisa outlined a beguiling and simple recipe for contentment and success.

"You should be thinking about people who are less fortunate in society," she said.

"If you are too self-centred you won't be able to contribute.

"Secondly, but perhaps even more importantly, you will be less happy." (AFP)