The 1965 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service

RESPONSE of Puey Ungphakorn
Ramon Magsaysay Award Presentation Ceremonies
31 August 1965 Manila, Philippines

In accepting the 1965 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, I wish to express my deep gratitude to the Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for having bestowed on me this great honor. To be called a dedicated, honest and competent government servant in the presence of this illustrious gathering is indeed the highest reward for all the toils, anxieties and sometimes courage demanded of a civil servant; but to be associated with the name and spirit of the Great Man, and to be thus included in the select list of worthy Awardees, is an honor which overwhelms me and make me feel humble and profoundly grateful.

I hope the Board of Trustees will bear with me when I submit that their citation in my case has been very generous. Whatever deserving contribution I have made in service to my people would not have been possible without the collaboration and encouragement, indeed in many cases the initiative, of many of my friends and colleagues in the Bank of Thailand, the Ministry of Finance, the Budget Bureau and the National Economic Development Board. In times like this my mind also turns back to my old teachers at Assumption College, Bangkok, whose guidance in both moral and intellectual spheres has been invaluable. More fundamentally, I was most fortunate in having in my deceased mother—a widow without means—a woman who never gave up fighting against the most difficult circumstances in order to provide her children with the best available education and who expected from them, in return for her pains, only that they observe the highest standard of behavior. How much I owe to my wife, only I know well enough; and I also know that she would not like me to mention it.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, recently when my students at Thammasat University came to my room to congratulate me on this Award, they pledged themselves "to follow, through your example, the great spirit of Ramon Magsaysay." These words of theirs filled my heart with joy and great hope for the younger generation. My youngest son, Giles, aged twelve, a stamp collector, also recited to me the following words: "Naniniwala ako na ang taong kapos sa buhay ay dapat punan sa batas." ["I believe that he who has less in life should have more in law," the excerpt from Ramon Magsaysay's Credo printed on his commemorative stamp.] Thank you for bringing this noble inspiration to the youth of Thailand.