The 1998 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service

BIOGRAPHY of Sophon Suphapong

The world around which revolved the birth, childhood, adult life, and professional career of Sophon Suphapong was a post-World War II Thailand facing a succession of military rulers, a series of coups d'état, and military corruption. Transition was swift from one military leader to another. But the king provided continuity and a source of stability to Thailand as a constitutional monarchy.

Times of order alternated with periods of instability from 1946 to the 1980s, owing, among other things, to the involvement of Thailand in the Vietnam War, the Student Uprising of 1973, and an ongoing communist insurgency. A certain degree of democratization was achieved by the 1980s under Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda, with the rising middle class, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society raising issues with the government.

Economic development was, however, the saving grace when as early as 1957 it became the cornerstone of the administration of Marshall Sarit Thanarat. In the 1970s, the economy slowly made some gains and continued to rise in the 1980s, until the crash of 1997. Despite an economic boom and a high rate of gross national product (GNP), agriculture in the rural areas was left undeveloped and poverty prevailed as only 5 percent of the populace held economic power. Social problems such as rampant prostitution and the large numbers of street children and broken families occurred as aftereffects of military rule and as a consequence of poverty in general. This overall historical milieu provides the context for understanding Sophon Suphapong's life and endeavors.

Sophon was born on September 12, 1946, in rural Raj Buri. From his birth to his childhood years, power in Thailand was held consecutively by Pridi Phanomyong and the generals Phibun Songkram and Sarit Thanarat. Pridi's People's Party had backed a succession of civilian governments until 1947, when Phibun Songkram staged a coup and ran the government until 1957. Sarit Thanarat staged a coup in 1957 and was prime minister until his death in 1963.

Sophon's early childhood was spent in up-country Thailand where his father, Mongkol Suphapong, was state attorney in Raj Buri. The family-his mother, Chawee Amartayakul, and his siblings: two brothers and a sister-was with his father when he was transferred to the south, and eventually to Phuket as governor. His father had a great influence on the young Sophon, who looked up to him as an honest man who worked hard and was "straightforward," says Sophon. He remembers an incident when his father threw a wad of money in the face of someone attempting to bribe him. While he did not know what that incident meant at the time, he imitated his father and threw things out of the window. This was a sign that even as a young boy, his father's persona already had an impact on him. Unknowingly, it was his first glimpse of corruption in government circles.

His father saw to it that official matters were not brought to the house, thereby insuring that the household was free from political visitors. Though not strict, Mongkol Suphapong was serious-minded (he never joked), orderly, and a good role model for his children. Both parents ran the family by example rather than by instruction.

As a civil servant in the Thai bureaucracy, Sophon's father's wages were low, making life difficult for the Suphapong family. His mother managed the household budget carefully, but office expenses and, later, the illness of his father put a strain on the family. Consequently, the house they owned while living in Bangkok was mortgaged and the family car was sold, after his father's second stint as governor of Nakhom Sri Thammarat.

Their family life was simple. There were no servants in the house. Sophon's mother was frugal and encouraged her children to eat fruits, which she said were good for the health. This simple life impressed upon Sophon that survival was not dependent on having much in life. The family's humble financial situation gave Sophon in later years the knack to associate with, and serve, the poor. He knew how it felt to be poor.

Starting off in a kindergarten school in Raj Buri, Sophon was later sent to Bangkok when he was five years old to continue his studies at Saint Gabriel's, a Catholic boy's school. The atmosphere in the school was friendly. The Brothers, called "Masters," were approachable and not prone to be authoritarian. Sophon was a good student and liked physics and math subjects. Since his parents were, for the most part, based in the south, Sophon lived in a boarding house part of the time, and with his Aunt Yon for six or seven years. It was only during vacation time that he visited his parents. These visits exposed him to the "serenity of nature and appreciation of rural life," he says. This experience, which fostered his appreciation of the environment, is something he brought with him into his adult life. Staying with an unmarried aunt who was a nurse would be another factor contributing to Sophon's closeness to the poor. His aunt's house was in a slum area inhabited by poor families. Sophon was thus exposed to friends who were poor. His aunt worked at Sung Hospital, another exposure area for Sophon, who says he "learned about birth, death, and helping others" there. Transferring later to the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok, then filled with paddy fields, the family grew vegetables and fruits, which were shared with other families.

After ten years of schooling at Saint Gabriel's, Sophon transferred to Triam Udom Suksa School, a public school quite different from Saint Gabriel's. Whereas Saint Gabriel's teachers were close friends with the students, at Triam Udom the teachers were authoritarian. He transferred to Triam Udom to be with his friends who did not pass the government examinations for entry into more prestigious schools. As a good student, he could have easily passed the government examinations but chose instead to be in the company of friends. While he was at Triam Udom, his father became terribly ill. Sophon did his schoolwork in the daytime and spent the evenings tending his father at Siriraj Hospital. His father's illness became a constant worry for Sophon for seven long years, affecting his studies both at Triam Udom and later at Chulalongkorn University. He spent many nights with his father, and the hospital scene of pain and despair left an imprint on him that made him ask the question, "After a man dies, what's left to his name?" This thought established his way of life.

Sophon's friends also influenced his choice of university. Before enrolling at Chulalongkorn University, he and his friends took the entrance examinations at different schools, including a military school that Sophon considered enrolling in. But he decided that a military education was not for him, thus, he chose Chulalongkorn in the end. He chose to go with his friends, just as he had done earlier.

The choice of Chulalongkorn, and engineering as his major course, was made easy because his elder brother took the same course earlier at the same university. He opted for electronical engineering and did not find the course difficult, admitting later that he did not work too hard at it. But, with a sick father to worry about and little money to go around, he had to scrimp to be able to buy what he wanted. On the side, he was tutoring math and physics to friends, getting some pay from their mothers. Perhaps because of his financial condition, he did not go out much with friends. On occasion, they talked politics, focusing on topics such as the Vietnam situation. In the 1960s, the Thai government had become involved in the Vietnam War, first as an ally of the US government, which established air bases in Nakhon Sawan Province, in Korat, and in Nakhon Thanom, and second, through intervention in Laos. The Thais were directly involved in the Vietnam campaign by 1964. Thai air force and navy contingents were stationed in South Vietnam to buttress the beleaguered US-backed South Vietnamese government. These developments were cause for concern among students.

Discussions with friends on political matters were, however, done in private. The university did not allow clubs and organizations to exist, even though there were attempts by students to organize them. The Thanom Kittikatchorn administration (1963-1973) was sensitive about complaints and often jailed dissidents. The repressive measures did not, however, daunt the students whose protests against the government would culminate in the 1973 student uprising. There were also demonstrations against corruption in government, showing the growing student power at the time. Sophon joined one or two of these mass actions.

Sophon did not dabble much in sports, although he played football and badminton. What he loved doing was going up-country, hiking and camping in the forests with friends for as long as a month at a time and sharing meals with villagers they met along the way-all in his introspective search for the true meaning of life. Rural life stood in stark contrast to both his life at the university, which at the time he considered as being separate from society, and to life among Bangkok's "high-class society." He was most happy being among the common people-a boyhood pleasure that he brought with him to adult life. He continued this philosophical search after his graduation from university, when he traveled by himself all over Thailand for one and a half years. He loved to sit for long periods in the forests or the rice fields, pondering such questions as why he had to live in this world, where the beginning of everything was, and the end. He did not realize at the time that he was in a state of depression, but this search enabled him to understand other people better. "That's why when I work with other people, I can feel the way most people feel about everything. I deeply know about their feelings, their perceptions, their sensations. I feel that way quite fast," he explains.

Sophon's search for a peaceful place brought him to the Golden Triangle, on the border of Thailand and Burma. In those days there was no border patrol or immigration control to speak of.

Sophon's philosophical search had nothing to do with Buddhism or Buddhist meditation. He learned about Buddhism only later in his life. Having been educated at a Catholic school, and being with a family that respected each other's faith, Sophon did not go through the usual Thai custom of boys spending part of their youth in a monastery. Instead, his search led him to personal heroes such as the Carthaginian general Hannibal and England's Lord Nelson, both of whom achieved victories against great odds.

Sophon's educational background; his exposure to slum areas and to the sick and, later, to his own ailing father at Siriraj Hospital; his friendship with the poor; and his introspective search for the meaning of life eventually prepared him for his professional career. One of the guiding philosophies of his work is summed up in an interview published by the Bangkok Post in August 1996: "When you wake up in the morning and feel that you need more than you have, then you will feel poor for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if you feel you need less than you have, then you will feel rich with a sense of self-reliance and strength. Then you feel that you can help others."

In 1969, the Vietnam War was at its height. At the time, Thailand's foreign policy permitted the United States to maintain military bases in Thailand, to be used in the US war with Vietnam. Thailand had become deeply involved in America's war. It was exactly at this time that Sophon learned from a friend about a job opening at Esso Standard of Thailand, an affiliate of the giant American oil company. He applied and was hired as an engineer.

He started working with Esso Standard in the oil terminal for the first four months, looking into filtering, packaging, oil storage, transportation, and other technical matters. He was later moved to engineering, planning and evaluation, where he helped resolve conflicts between the technical people and their managers. This was his expertise: "translating one's feelings to others" and sorting out problems. He went through twelve different positions at Esso, preparing himself to become an executive.

But for Sophon all this was merely work. What he really enjoyed doing was walking in the streets and meeting with children. Before taking the bus home from the office, he would visit the nearby Ruam Radee Church. He found the church to his liking because it was a quiet place on a small street. It became his routine to sit there for an hour or so after work, meeting with children and their families. Later, he began meeting with children in the streets and looking into their problems, such as conflicts in the family, getting enough food to eat, and finding assistance in times of sickness. To help them, he drew volunteers from among his friends at a time before many NGOs existed.

Sophon worked for Esso in Bangkok for seven years, then he was transferred to Sri Racha, an oil refinery south of Bangkok on the coast of the Gulf of Siam, where he stayed for five years. His work with Esso Standard brought him on inspection trips to Laos and Cambodia. He also accepted a consulting job with friends as a contractor in Vietnam. In these travels, he was more interested in looking at what was happening in those countries than in his formal assignments. At the same time, Sophon became an interested witness to dramatic political events in Thailand between 1973 and 1976.

The absence of democratic opportunity, dissatisfaction with the rule of the military (which many perceived was working for its own interest), corruption, and the growth of an organized and militant student group backed by the citizenry and the king-all of these factors led to the Student Uprising of October 1973. Some half a million students took to the streets and sought the removal of the existing military regime. The students were joined by rural groups, trade unions, and a business class that had gained enough economic status to defy their military patrons. Around one hundred protesters were killed, and for several days there was mayhem in the streets of Bangkok until the king intervened and advised the political leaders to go into exile-advice they reluctantly accepted.

The Student Uprising had lasting repercussions on Thai society. A democratic civilian government was installed and managed to stay in power until 1976. The interlude saw a succession of liberal caretaker governments that faced not only right-wing reactions but also a worldwide recession, which temporarily stemmed the economic growth of the country.

At the same time, the Thai government faced a crisis in Indochina over which it had no control. Vietnam was liberated in 1975, Laos fell into the hands of the Communist Pathet Lao, and Cambodia was taken over by the Khmer Rouge with the backing of the People's Republic of China. The Communist victory in Indochina emboldened insurgents in the Thai countryside. The Communist Party of Thailand had taken advantage of the growing power of communism in Indochina to wage insurgency attacks as early as the 1960s. National security, therefore, was a concern as there were fears that Thailand might also fall to communism. The US decision to leave Southeast Asia after its defeat in Vietnam added to the perception that perhaps an authoritarian government was needed to cope with the situation. With dozens killed in the 1976 elections, and continuing demonstrations taking place, a military coup seemed inevitable.

A more significant result of the Student Uprising was the sudden "birth" of a civil society. An educated middle class had risen with economic growth, empowering business groups to raise their voices against their military patrons. Eventually, nongovernmental organizations took root, expanding their activities to the rural areas. The emergence of a civil society in Thailand became a factor for change in the 1980s and NGOs became permanent institutions in the country.

One of the consequences of the Vietnam War was the establishment and continuing presence of American military bases in Thailand. These air force bases were part of the US military strategy to stem communism in Southeast Asia. While the war was going on, these bases were the staging ground for operations in Indochina. Meanwhile, nightclubs and other entertainment centers mushroomed for the "rest and recreation" of soldiers. Prostitution was on the rise. Rural areas were changing as well. Sophon saw these changes taking place and was appalled at how shy women turned into bold entertainers in nightclubs, and how traditional Thai morals were rapidly being abandoned. This strengthened his resolve to avoid life in Bangkok and to work instead in the rural areas.

Meanwhile, his work at Esso Standard improved his credentials as a business executive. He rose to the position of supply officer, which gave him the opportunity to try some new business strategies for the company. But this did not deter him from living his private life and doing what he loved to do, which was to be with friends, walk the streets, visit the fresh market and the rice fields, and involve himself with civil society. "I am familiar with people," he says, "not with authority, or organization, or business."

In the work place, Sophon tried learning from the people, trying to understand them and requiring nothing from them. It gave him happiness "to have nothing," he says. He had formulated a philosophy of life that would guide his career as a public servant.

Indeed, in those days, he lived a simple life in his bachelor's pad. His house contained no bed, no refrigerator, and no television; he owned only two pairs of trousers and two shirts. In 1981, however, Sophon married Arerayath Ratanadilak Na Bhuket. This changed his lifestyle. Among other things, he gave up retreating to the forest and the rice fields for Bangkok's buildings. This was a decision he made after Arerayath declined a scholarship abroad to be with him.

Arerayath came from a prominent family that had been granted ownership of Phuket Island by the king. Eventually, the family left for Bangkok because of the communist insurgency in the south. Sophon met his future wife when she was a trainee at the Esso Standard, as a student of statistics at Chulalongkorn University. She was the first woman to graduate with honors in the field of statistics. It was not until five or six years later that they became acquainted. He found in her something good for him, an answer, in part, to his constant search for the perennial "something" in his life. The books that she sent him drew them together, and his "beautiful gem" (the literal meaning of Arerayath's name) was for Sophon a spiritual rather than a material treasure. The marriage bore two children, Muonpare and Pimkare, born in 1982 and 1986, respectively, and the family became Sophon's refuge from the pressures of the business world.

Thailand in the 1980s ushered in the regime of General Prem Tinsulanonda, who was elected by the Thai Parliament in 1980. This brought a period of political stability and effective governance. Prem, with the backing of the king, selected trusted technocrats for the finance and commerce positions in the cabinet, and he obtained the support of officials from the major political parties. Despite two attempted coups, his government survived until his resignation in 1988. This period, oftentimes called the era of "Premocracy," saw the remarkable economic growth of Thailand averaging 10 percent annually-considerably higher than any other country in Southeast Asia. The years from 1987 to 1989 were boom years for Thailand, with the export sector growing by 24 percent each year.

It was during the period of "Premocracy" that Sophon began his career as a public servant. In 1980, at age thirty-four, he accepted the government's offer to be deputy governor of the newly established Petroleum Authority of Thailand. The creation of the new office was in response to a worldwide oil crisis. As deputy governor, he was charged with looking after the country's petroleum policy and working closely with the industry and commerce ministries. He was one of the trusted technocrats appointed by the new regime to work closely with Prime Minister Prem to find solutions to the multifarious political, economic, and international problems facing Thailand, including the insurgency in the south and the global oil crisis.

Sophon's main concern was to look for the needed energy supply. In this task, he worked closely with Minister Sulee of Energy and Petroleum, a ministry attached to the prime minister's office. Even with a limited national budget, Sophon was entrusted with plenty of money to import oil and have it distributed nationwide. While the project involved many people, he was the only one to be given free rein and be exempted from government regulations and cabinet interference. Sophon faced difficult challenges, seeing to it that there was enough oil, negotiating with ASEAN countries, using the nation's credit to import oil, distributing the oil locally on a cash basis, and repaying the credit later. The full trust given to him by Prem eased the hard work facing him.

Sophon's appointment as head of Bangchak oil refinery in 1985 was, in part, a response to the international oil crisis. The petroleum company belonged to the defense ministry but had been leased to Sum-Mit Industrial Corporation, which was managed by three Singaporean-Taiwanese brothers who had graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. (Thus the play on words: sum, meaning three in Fujian, or Hokkien, dialect, and MIT) The company was badly mismanaged; moreover, it had found it more profitable to buy crude oil at contract prices and resell it on the spot market outside of Thailand (at a much higher price), rather than to distribute it within Thailand. This sort of policy, considered unfavorable to national interest, along with other corrupt practices, prompted the government to terminate the company's contract and to take over management. But the government also failed to run the company well, incurring a huge loss of some five billion baht.

In an attempt to make the company viable again, the World Bank came into the picture. Sophon was consulted and, without suspecting that he would play a future role in the firm, he recommended that it be restructured completely. After a year in which the government studied Sophon's plan, Bangchak was created to replace Sum-Mit and Sophon himself was named president. In 1985, at age thirty-nine, he accepted the presidency despite his abhorrence of corporate life. He did so, he says, to relieve an honest government of a difficult problem. He knew that the post had been declined by others. In accepting it, he gave himself five years to resuscitate the ailing company. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank approached him and offered an initial loan of from four to five billion baht for repair work, along with a team of forty or fifty foreign experts to work with him.

Bangchak, previously known as the military refinery, was owned 48 percent by the finance ministry, 24 percent by the Petroleum Authority, 8 percent by the Krung Thai Bank, and 20 percent by the general public. Formerly part of the defense energy department, it was transferred to the finance ministry, making the company a separate government entity. The company owed its name to the area where the refinery was located. It had a board of directors whose membership came from among the stakeholders.

Sophon turned down the initial loan and services offered by the World Bank, thus making Bangchak the first refinery with no expatriates on its staff. Instead, he introduced a new management style that involved fostering respect for the company and that divorced itself from the military mindset of guns and force. This meant changing the thinking of the company's personnel, which still included two military generals and forty captains. With a promise of no foreign funding or foreign personnel, and the challenge of depending on itself to turn the company into a profitable enterprise, his team succeeded in doing things the "Thai way." Every employee was committed to work not only for the company but also for the greater family of Thai people. Teamwork and clear goals were emphasized. Employees' voices were heard, and their ideas were shared as if among friends. In this atmosphere, no trade union was necessary-another landmark in Thai business.

Loans from the IMF did come three or four years later when the company was already earning profits, proof of the Fund's trust in Sophon and his capability to handle money.

From the start, Sophon encouraged Bangchak employees to work with a foundation dealing with concerns of street children, such as protection against abuse, health and nutrition, education, etc. Exposure to the living conditions of the poor resulted in changing the workers' outlook on social issues. After their initial visits to poor neighborhoods, the employees took it upon themselves to donate money on a regular basis for the children's food.

As Bangchak flourished under Sophon, its debts were turned into equity, thus, giving the finance ministry 48 percent of the stocks. Operational losses were gradually lessened and, with self-sufficiency as the goal, sales were improved during the first four years of operation. Running the refinery involved what Sophon termed "supply economics." This meant stabilizing both supply and demand and optimizing all levels of operation, from procuring the crude oil, to refining, marketing, transporting, and distributing it through the dealers.

The first four years of the company were taken up by internal consolidation through a people-oriented management system. On the fifth year, Sophon expanded the retail side of the business by working with community organizations and involving them in distribution franchises. Sophon's objective was to give rural Thai communities a chance to learn about business, to lead them to self-reliance, and to develop them as the foundation of a healthy national economy.

The company's community-based retail business initiative began with an invitation for members of farming cooperatives in Suphan Buri, a nearby province, to visit the Bangchak refinery. The cooperatives had plenty of rice in stock and they needed oil-but they had no money. Sophon suggested swapping oil for rice, which he could then give to needy children with no money involved. From this discussion emerged Bangchak's first community outlet. Initially, the outlet had only one Bangchak gasoline pump run by the cooperative. No extra employees or new office was necessary; a family member was simply delegated to handle the outlet. However, Bangchak required that the cooperative install the storage tank at its own cost, to give its members the responsibility of handling money properly. But Bangchak also guaranteed that the cooperative's investment would be lower than its income from selling oil. This became the company's modus operandi as it expanded to other rural cooperatives and, in time, to other kinds of community organizations, such as farmers and housewives' associations. (Formal cooperative societies, it learned, were sometimes difficult to work with because of their elaborate rules.)

Applicants for Bangchak outlets had to form a company to run their new business. To do this, they were given advice on investments and also, if they wanted it, training from Bangchak personnel on marketing and business techniques. This training generally lasted from seven to ten days. This kind of on-the-job training subsequently became standard operating procedure at Bangchak.

When Bangchak's new community-run outlets became operational, they had to confront competition. Sophon was flooded with complaints about this and with requests for advice. His response was to urge the neophyte businesses to solve their own problems-by dialoguing with competitors and by advertising, for example. Sophon wanted to emphasize the development of self-sufficiency among his customers. He was quite successful in doing so. Once the profit motive took hold, as he had believed, community organizations became adept at solving their own problems.

The basic infrastructure for one pump cost three hundred thousand baht. The organization shouldered this expense. Once the business began to prosper and its proprietor wanted to expand, Bangchak, in cooperation with collaborating banks, guaranteed a loan for the community organization to purchase the franchise from Bangchak. Should the business subsequently fail, the organization could transfer its franchise back to the company. This way, Bangchak provided a safety net for groups to invest in service stations with less risk of failure and more chance for profit. In fact, the number of failures was negligible.

The price of gasoline was determined in the free market. Bangchak had to compete fiercely with smuggled oil, which was cheaper. The cost of gasoline sold to the outlets was predetermined by its market price, with a minimum margin of 10 percent to guarantee a profit for the community service stations. No subsidy was involved. For areas where there was smuggled oil, Bangchak lowered the supply cost to be competitive. Gasoline was paid for in cash since distributors sold it on a cash basis. But Bangchak advanced working capital to its distributors for four or five years, to help them expand their businesses.

Community organizations hired their own service station operators in their respective villages. Through an accounting system set up by Bangchak, these organizations practiced cost accounting to monitor sales and to consider the amount to be paid for taxes and other expenses. Profit distribution was carried out by the organizations themselves based on the income level of the villages. Using a "4 to 12 percent" model, 4 percent went to the rich villages and 12 percent to the poor ones. Funds for children's education, food, and health were likewise allocated for based again on the needs of members. This system could only have been put into effect by community organizations that were inspired by the philosophy of Bangchak-to help the poor and to uplift the socioeconomic conditions of the rural areas.

Bangchak's community-run outlets expanded all over the country: starting with the experiment at Suhan Buri, they spread to the northeast (Thailand's poorest area), then on to the north, east, central, west, and south of country. By the mid-1990s, there were hundreds of outlets. These outlets became not only service stations but also the core of other business enterprises started by Bangchak, such as trucking centers and convenience stores. The philosophy behind all these businesses was to help the poor, to keep mothers at home, and to nurture children-who remained Sophon's main advocacy-and provide for their welfare. Under Sophon, Bangchak thus emphasized the social dimension of the businesses rather than the businesses themselves. Moreover, the outlets were used for the implementation of the National Development Plan. As such, they functioned as business organizations, not as government agencies. This was an advantage. In government organizations, continuity may be disrupted through changes in personnel and leadership, but not so in business organizations, because the people themselves set up the structure and objectives of the business.

Sophon's social activities and community development projects grew side-by-side with his business concerns. Bangchak's expansion into the Lemon Tree convenience stores and the Lemon Farm came as extensions of the service stations and at the initiative of the community members themselves. Out of the petroleum delivery system came the trucking system. Community members were first asked whether they wanted to be truck drivers for the more than fifty delivery tanks that Bangchak owned. Soon, the new drivers were leasing the trucks themselves and becoming gasoline distributors and traders in their own right.

Bangchak initially put up the convenience stores, but management and ownership were gradually turned over to community organizations. To avoid competing with other local stores, the new convenience stores were purposely established in the smaller towns and staffed by relatives of the rural villagers. The idea was to help the poor sell to the rich. Most of these stores were in service stations.

The establishment of Lemon Farm mini marts came as an attempt to market farmers' fresh products such as eggs, oranges, and rice (and, later, processed agricultural products such as herbal drinks). Eventually, some one thousand items were sold in Lemon Farm stores, making them more successful than standard convenience stores because each branch served as many as fifty communities. The mini marts were also health food outlets and introduced consumers to the value of health foods produced through natural manufacturing processes in Thai villages. Displays of these products under the Bangchak trademark in mini marts and gasoline stations encouraged a "Buy Thai" campaign.

With business expanding, Sophon's company continued to follow a community-based criterion, encouraging its new partners to build upon their own skills, knowledge, and ways of doing things. The company adapted to their needs. This way, the community organizations were more inclined to be self-reliant and to solve their own problems. The company, however, provided support in seeking solutions to these problems.

A Bangchak gasoline distributor, for example, was required to organize a company, but the structure of the company was left to the community owners. They could use forms they were comfortable with. In a typical setup, members of the local organization bought shares of stock in the new service station company and selected their own chair and committee members. No new company was required to set up a Lemon Tree convenience store. Instead, Bangchak identified potential operators or owners among its already-established franchisees. The franchisees, in turn, contracted with a local village group to provide produce. This group chose its own leaders to organize their end of the business.

Launched in 1990, Sophon's new distribution system became the key to Bangchak's success. After one year, the program of community self-sufficiency was in operation and was continually supported in the succeeding years. In July 1997, the Thai economy crashed, causing the devaluation of the baht and a free fall on the stock market. But, despite the financial crisis, that year Bangchak posted an increase of 19 percent in its revenue from sales of petroleum, consumer goods, and services, in comparison to its 1996 performance. Sales of petroleum products increased by 8 percent and retail sales by 17 percent. By 1998, there were six hundred Bangchak-affiliated outlets run by cooperatives, community organizations, farmers' groups, and housewives' associations. They owned or operated Bangchak service stations, fuel delivery trucks, shops, and small garment factories, or sold community products to Lemon Green mini marts, benefiting more than seven hundred communities with one million households as partners. Another six hundred Bangchak outlets were run by business people in the conventional way. The outlets run by the community groups did better because, among other factors, they were owned and managed by peopled who were consumers themselves and who protected their investments more vigorously. As of 1998, the operation of community-based outlets had a success rate of 98 percent, compared with the general dealers' less than 75 percent.

Running a vast network of business interests required the establishment of affiliates and related companies. By 1997, these included the Mongkol Chaipattana Company, handling retail business and service; Bangchak Green Net Company, managing Bangchak gas stations and Lemon Green mini marts; Bangchak Green Line Company, handling transportation and distribution in Thailand and abroad; Bangchak Power Company, producing and selling electricity; Fuel Pipeline Transportation Company, transporting oil from Bangchak to Bang Pa-in distribution centers; and Auchan Chiang Mai Company, operating a chain of what it calls "hypermarkets," or supermarkets.

Out of his business concerns with community organizations came Sophon's other subsidiary interests: social activities, community organizations, conservation, and environmental awareness. As a government corporation, Bangchak was also involved in the implementation of the National Development Plan. These varied interests were carried out and coordinated through a networking system that Sophon organized or was a part of.

To begin with, there was the Environment and Development Network composed of two hundred organizations nationwide. When the need arose, as during a coup d'état, members of the Network met to discuss the crisis and to act if necessary. Bangkcak sponsored television programs for people to air their concerns and to raise social issues.

The NGO network, with 240 members, was another arm of Sophon's company. It linked together a web of NGOs with interlocking concerns such as children's health and welfare, public health, the environment, and related university-based research. The Environment and Development Network and the NGO network held regional or provincial forums together for the National Development Plan and the National Economic and Social Development Office. Through these networks, Bangchak was able to hold forums with government, the business sector, and political parties. On a more popular level, Bangchak sponsors a variety of local programs on such topics as "Bird Watching," "Kitchen Gardens," "Herbs for Health," and "Love Your Health."

Bangchak's networking with NGOs and community groups linked it with the country's National Development Plan on issues involving environment, education, law, and the constitution. In the drafting of the 1997 Constitution, for example, Bangchak outlets were used for the distribution and discussion of the draft charter. Considered the most democratic of Thailand's several constitutions, it was drawn up by an independent ninety-nine-member assembly. Its representatives went all over the country to get the views of the public. In many places, Bangchak outlets served as venues for these countrywide consultations.

As for critics questioning the company's use of its resources for causes inimical to good investment returns, Sophon argues that Bangchak is a state tool to help the poor. Earnings for the community organizations, he says, "help the decentralization of wealth to rural areas."

In recognition of his many achievements, Sophon was named as Thailand's Most Outstanding Public Administrator in 1995 and its Most Outstanding Engineer in 1996. His many additional concerns included being a member of the university councils of Chulalongkorn University, Silpakorn University, Prince of Songkla University, and Burapha University as well as serving as president of the executive committee of the Foundation for Children and general secretary of the Creative Media Foundation.

Sophon has received numerous national honors and, in 1996, another one was added when he was appointed one of Thailand's 260 senators. Under the 1997 Constitution, several independent agencies with oversight over areas such as corruption and human rights were set up. Among other duties, senators approve the positions for these agencies, look after the laws and new decrees, and have final authority in terminating Parliament members and members of independent agencies.

Sophon's long years of service in Bangchak corresponded with the administrations of six prime ministers, beginning with Prem Tinsulanonda, followed by Chatichai Choonhavan in 1988, Anand Panyarachun in 1991, Chuan Leekpai in 1992, Barnham Silpa-archa in 1995, Chavalit Yongchaiyut in 1996, and a second term for Chuan Leekpai in 1997, who served until 2000. Despite the shifting political situation, Bangchak remained economically and socially successful, a tribute to Sophon's management. That he was able to work with several administrations illustrates his ability to deal with political leaders of different stripes as well as the important role played by Bangchak in Thailand's economy.

Due to the world financial crisis following the crash of 1997, the Thai government turned to the IMF-World Bank for help. The stringent measures imposed on the country were subsequently blamed for mass unemployment, the bankruptcy of business companies, and the indebtedness of the country. A national campaign against the IMF was mobilized by a pro-democracy movement at a rally sometime in 1997, during which Sophon spoke at a panel discussion. The rally was attended by some one thousand people and called for the government to reveal the contents of certain agreements it had made with the IMF and to suspend further talks with the financial institutions. The pro-democracy movement was not aimed at pressuring the government but was a social movement to educate the people to find solutions to the financial crisis and not depend solely on the government.

One option for the government, in its efforts to restore the economy and comply with IMF requirements, was to sell shares of Bangchak stock to foreign investors as part of a program of privatization. Sophon, with the help of friends such as Dr. Prawase Wasi, opposed the move. He used his various social networks to interest Thais in buying shares, should the government decide to privatize. That way, the company would remain in Thai hands. The response of the people was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, voicing the intent to buy as much as 94 percent of the company. The government took its time to implement a cabinet decision to sell a 32 percent stake to the public, half to Thais and half to foreign investors. With the government determined to privatize Bangchak and to sell shares to foreigners, Sophon offered to resign in 1998.

In retrospect, Sophon early on learned how it was to be poor, to love the outdoors and the environment, and to be exposed to social issues. These developments influenced his socio-business philosophy as he entered his professional career, first at Esso Standard, later at the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, and finally at Bangchak Petroleum. It was at Bangchak that he espoused a policy of helping poor rural communities as a social responsibility of the company. He carried the belief that, apart from being profitable, businesses should advance social justice and provide opportunities for the underprivileged to increase their income. His mission had the following concrete results for rural communities: