Transparency International ranked Thailand 84th out of 180 countries in its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The no-nonsense attitude taken by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in dealing with the latest corruption case to come out of the Public Health Ministry has had an unexpected result.
Possibly influenced by the rarity of seeing a government minister ordered to fall on his sword, opposition MPs are talking of postponing the censure debate they had intended to hold immediately after Parliament reopens on Thursday. Puea Thai executives say the party might wait until it has more ammunition.
No matter how it plays out, Mr Abhisit should be given full credit for the firm stance he has adopted on corruption. His administration must be encouraged to get even tougher on graft in the coming months. With economic recovery will come the need to attract greater foreign investment, rejuvenate flagging businesses and overhaul the worst aspects of the system we live by. This will mean an emphasis on innovation and accountability. There will be no room for bureaucratic overkill, outstretched hands or a return to "business as usual" if we are serious about success. It is time to eliminate these problem areas and bottlenecks.
When Transparency International ranked Thailand 84th out of 180 countries in its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index, critics blamed the poor score of 3.4 out of 10 on lingering fallout from the 2006 coup. They also cited the demoralising aspect of the economic downturn and fussed about the effects of decentralising administrative power and funding. No one got visibly angry about the explosion of dishonesty and greed, which was what the result actually signified.
Last month the results of another survey were announced. This was commissioned by the two-year-old Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission and quoted almost one in three MPs as saying they viewed corruption as normal and an intrinsic factor in life. Fortunately others didn't agree. Most citizens interviewed rated corruption as a serious problem in society, with about 6 out of 10 businessmen saying they had first-hand experience of bribery. Several factors were blamed for it being so widespread, among them the rise of consumerism, the patronage system and public indifference.
The World Bank says there has been no real progress in addressing corruption here as key indicators have remained unchanged over the past decade. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) also laments the lack of any improvement in the past five years. Worse, alarm is being expressed that the amounts of under-the-table money needed to secure concessions or projects from government agencies has soared. Accusing fingers are pointed at the departments of land and customs as prime offenders. Police are also a magnet for complaints.
The most depressing part of all this is how ingrained corruption is in our society, almost to the point where it has become a tradition and is somehow acceptable. Just getting into the civil service can entail not only passing the examinations but a willingness to pay tea money for a job in a favoured position and locality. With that kind of start to a career in government service, can there really be any hope?
Singapore and Hong Kong eradicated corruption by paying competitive and attractive salaries in the public sector, creating well-defined career paths and then dismissing and disgracing the careers of any police officer or civil servant who stooped to graft. It worked. Officers did not need tea money to survive, nor did they have to fill quotas for their corrupt superiors.
The NACC is about to launch a nationwide awareness campaign mobilising one million people to root out corruption. It might take a generation, but it is a start.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment