As serious as in his looks, he is serious in action. As handsome as in his appearance, he is serious in his personality.
As a boy I grew up closely watching at the beautiful kupar of our king Jigme Singye Wangchuck my parents had hung up just above the first door of my parental house. Before I knew anything about the world, my parents introduced me to our king. Before I knew where he lives and what he does, I knew him as our king, King (Raja) of Bhutan.
His leadership have often caught the worldly attention. I started loving our king from a very young age. There is nothing as beautiful as giving a long staring looks at the kupar of our king, the Great Fourth. Before I'd the idea of the world, I was already very close to our king.
The photo frame my parents have always occupies a special place in our home and in our heart. It is still in the same place and has equally impacted other siblings like me. We worship him for his leadership and great vision for the country. Since then I always admire him. Indeed, he is my "role model".
Back to my primary school, I used to know many things about the beloved Fourth King, in fact more than my little classmates. I could easily distinguish our king. We were introduced to our king in a very same manner of what my parents used to share with us, but more formally. By the time I was in junior school, I knew so many developments –where he lives? What does he do? His office. The changes he has brought under his dynamic leadership and how concerns he was especially for the younger generation.
However, going through these powerful statements made by His Majesty at his earlier age is something extraordinary.
I've jotted down a few random statements made by Jonathan Gregson in his book called "Kingdoms Beyond the Clouds", lively interviews with beloved Fourth Druk Gyalpo.
"He has always been reluctant to take on large foreign loans. Standing on our own feet and self-reliance are central to his philosophy".
"I don't believe monarchy is the best system of government. If there's a very good and competent king, then he can do much good; if not, then he can do a lot of harm. I try to impress upon them that you cannot depend just on one individual and that the future of bhutan can only be secure if it is in the hands of the Bhutanese people".
"The essence of democracy is very, very good. Political parties decisions are based not on what's best for the country but what's best for winning votes".
"He was pursuing a policy of economic self-reliance, privatizing enterprises set up with foreign aid so that they pay their own way and don’t become a drain on public finances".
"Hydroelectricity –just as the Middle East has oil". But his majesty has warned in 1980's about the shortage of water to run the turbine and potential destruction to mother nature. He always has great concern for forest coverage.
The future of the country lies in the hands of the young generation is never far from the truth.
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