The Executive Committee of the FCCT strove to achieve a balance between the two primary objectives of the club during the past year. These were to offer a space welcoming to our members and to serve as a venue open to the free exchange of views and ideas on current issues of the day. The support we got for these two endeavours was reflected in the number of people, both members and non-members, who used our facility be it for a drink and a chat, to work with their laptops, or to attend our eclectic mix of programmes.

Against this were the times our club found itself mentioned in the local media. And not all of it was in praise. Thailand's politically charged atmosphere saw the club being accused from all sides of the country's political divide for not being open to their respective views. We were also not spared of a lese majeste complaint either. But unlike the previous year, the lese majeste complaint that was lodged in mid-2009 targeted the entire board for the first time in the club's history. Our position was the same as the one we took in 2008 when the club was subject to an investigation by the Crime Suppression Division - to cooperate with any police inquiry. Our lawyer advised us to make limited public comments. And I can report that we have been informed that this complaint has not progressed and that the procedure related to lese majeste complaints has been subject to an overhaul.

Little of this dampened the spirit of the Executive Committee, a group I was so fortunate to work with. The most visible evidence of this is what has been achieved in our refurbishing programme. The new sofas, the dinning room chairs, the cocktail tables and bar stools are part of a process that began in 2007 and saw fruition in January this year. The board members of 2007 and 2008 deserve as much credit as the current board for giving the club this new look.

Similar enthusiasm by the board was evident in the programmes organised during the past 12 months. Although we did get off to a slow start, the pace of the panel discussions improved by mid-way to end on an impressive note in January, when we hosted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for the traditional Prime Minister's Keynote speech and Dinner and then had the legendary filmmaker Oliver Stone speak at the club.

The others who spoke before them came from varied fields. They included ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan, Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, Singapore's former UN envoy Kishore Mahbubani, Sri Lanka's former foreign secretary Palith Kohona, president of Thai Airways International Piyasvasti Amranand, commander of the fourth army region Lt. Gen. Pichet Wisaijorn, long-time club member and retiring general manager of the Mandarin Oriental Kurt Wachtveitel, singer Tata Young and Asian superstar Jackie Chan.

The panel discussions conveyed a similar commitment to variety. Regular talks on the twists and turns of Thai politics were sandwiched between sessions on the Khmer Rouge tribunal, the plight of the Rohingyas, reform of Thailand's lese majeste law, an appreciation of the wines produced in the kingdom, the contested Phra Viharn/ Preah Vihear temple, media suppression in Cambodia, the global economic crisis, the trends in Asian tourism, the prospect of peace in war-torn SriLanka and a survey of erotic encounters between the East and the West.

The club's ability to attract Bangkok's film buffs continued for the third year through our successful world film series. This achievement was largely due to club member Lekha Shankar, who knocked on the doors of embassies and chased after diplomats to secure the latest in cinematography from across many regions. Mixed with these works of fiction were some good documentaries, including the special screening of ‘Burma VJ' on the crackdown of the Saffron Revolution in Burma.

The club's raised profile saw our venue being booked for events that helped to improve our finances. Besides press conference hosted by U.N. agencies and NGOs, the FCCT became the regular venue for women's groups and business groups to host luncheon events and for authors to launch their new books, as was the case with the works by Chaturon Chaisang, the former leader of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai party, and political analysts and long-time club members Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker.

Our way of supporting a section of our community - the photographers - broke new ground by the record number of entries we received for our annual FCCT photo contest. Vice President Patrick Barta deserves all the credit for giving shape to this event in the same way former board member Jeanne Hallacy has to be thanked for being the club's curator and attracting impressive work from photographers based in Bangkok and across the region to exhibit their images on our walls.

Other board members, too, need to be thanked for their contributions. Henry Silverman was an asset in organising the prime minister's dinner, Dominic Faulder drew on his network of Thai contacts that was helpful during the encounters the club had with the authorities, Greg Lowe did wonders with the weekly bulletin, Jim Pollard brought a refreshing edge to ‘Dateline', and Justin Moseley was diligent with this year's directory.

Anasuya Sanyal, Dan Ten Kate, Karuna Buakamsri and Jonathan Head, while he was here, helped in no small way with the programmes that were organised and also kept the board in the information loop during some of the more politically volatile periods in 2009.

And as for Nirmal Ghosh, my predecessor, he was the one person I often turned to for sound advice during the past year when faced with the challenges in running an organisation like the FCCT.

But this year would not have been possible were it not also for so many people other than board members who gave generously of their time and energy to help the club. Tony Doherty was responsible with redesigning our webpage, Julian Hadden helped us experiment with Skype to beam speakers in for panel discussions and streaming video to beam them out again and the AsiaWorks team were always there with technical assistance. Then there were Paul Widel who helped with translations, Mark Ogaslert with the prints for our photo exhibitions, Art Moritz for maintaining our e-mail list, and Somchai Homlaor and Sunai Phasuk for offering advice when we needed it.

The office staff, led by our dedicated manager Pink and her assistants Pat and Pla, and the bar and restaurant staff, led by Khun Rhoong and helped by Khun Rienchai, Khun Addy and Khun Santana, proved how invaluable they were for us to run a successful operation. It is they, more than the board, who serve as the face of the club when members and guests come through and their friendly demeanour has been appreciated by many.

A final word of thanks is also due to Mom Tin, our very supportive landlord, and the organisations that helped us, such as the International Peace Foundation, and are our major corporate sponsors, from Coca Cola and Unilever to Boonrawd Breweries.

For me, personally, the past year was rewarding for the many insights it offered in how the foreign correspondents' community in Thailand functions. New friendships were made and existing ones deepened. And I hope I lived up to the expectations of those who reposed in me the responsibility to run what I still believe is the most successful and vibrant foreign press club in Southeast Asia.

Thank you for all your support.

Marwaan Macan-Markar
President,
5 February 2010