01/11/2022
Long live the king
I have never felt the significance, as well as the weight, of the day as I am feeling today.
Here we are, cherishing the day Bhutan was blessed with the fifth Druk Gyalpo 14 years ago. And we are grateful every single day for the benevolence and sacrifices, for being our shield and our sanctuary.
And here we are today, pinning all our hopes on His Majesty The King to rebuild Bhutan that is nothing close to what we have seen, or how we have lived so far.
Therefore, for me, this Coronation Day is the declaration of hopes for our future. But the day also beckons us to delve deeper, and come to terms with the fact that responsibility falls on each one of us to offer ceaseless commitment and hard work to realise His Majestyβs dreams for Bhutan.
No country has ever seen a transformation of such magnitude at a time. Whole of nation, governance, civil service, public sectors and institutions are undergoing reform. My government feels immensely fortunate that the historic reform is happening during our tenure. Like the rest of the nation, we are excited and pledge to play our part unconditionally.
The reforms are happening by the hour. Besides what we have seen and heard so far, the Parliament session that starts on November 4 will also take up the 46 related bills, and deliberate on the fifth Pay Commission report that transforms the pay packages into a transparent format. For information, the commission handed over the report to the Cabinet on October 30.
Change has never been easy. But we have reached a point where we cannot do without. His Majesty has reminded us numerous times that we are not on the right track. So much needs to be done and thus, we are at a critical juncture.
Reassuringly, His Majesty has shown us during the pandemic that Bhutan can achieve success if we do it with sincerity, in unity and if we are ready to be selfless. We are small and that is our advantage again. But above all, we have unrelenting faith in His Majestyβs leadership that is distinctive yet profound and noble.
We have now started to walk the new normal path. In doing so, we have pledged to βbelieveβ. We will believe in ourselves, the wisdom of our past and the promise of our future. We will believe in each other. And we will forever believe in His Majesty The King.
This Coronation Day, I join the people of Bhutan in praying for a prosperous reign and longevity of His Majesty The King. This Coronation Day, we pray in earnest that His Majestyβs aspirations are realised, for Bhutan, for ourselves and for all Bhutanese generations.
Sincerely,
Dr Lotay Tshering
Prime Minister's Office - PMO, Bhutan