Thailand Continues Corruption Despite So-Called Reforms by Phairath Khampha 31 August 2002 Thailand has become even more corrupt, says the Berlin-based group Transparency International, which examines the extent of graft around the world. In fact it was worse in 2002 than in the previous two years. The respected annual survey's 2002 global corruption index ranked Thailand in 64th place along with Turkey. in 2001, it was at 61 along with Malawi and at 60 in 2000. The perception of the degree of corruption in a country is important because it can influence the decision of businessmen and potential investors. For instance, China, which was ranked 59th in the survey in 2002, has a better image than Thailand as far as corruption is concerned. As such, there is a very real possibility that potential investors could in future look to China rather than Thailand, especially companies that are serious about good corporate governance. In terms of rule of law and good governance, Thailand still ranked way behind its Asian neighbours, especially Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Singapore in particular is highly regarded, not the least because its government officials are highly paid, a factor considered an anti-corruption incentive. In the previous few months, Thailand was gripped by a spate of of very serious corruption scandals. The ongoing investigation involving the school milk programme is a case in point because it has a far-reaching impact on young students' health. Lurking beneath the surface were still more scandals that are sapping the country's resources. In addition, granted the current economic condition, there has been a tendency within government agencies to rely on initiatives offered by the private sector to handle financial transactions, which used to be the responsibility of the government. That kind of link only reinforces corrupt patron-client relations. Encouraging such personal ties inevitably leads to obligations and personal favours, which eventually turn into large-scale corruption. Those in power know how to make deals and avoid detection. Of late, there has been what is described as policy corruption. It is no longer about commissions or tea money. The whole approach is designed to include certain big corporate entities into the whole scheme, making investigation more difficult because it is untraceable. And basically, if one wants to do business in Thailand, one has to carry it out in the fashion. This is particularly true of internaitonal business trying to do business in the country. Recent political reforms brought about some independent mechanisms to monitor the government's performance, such as the National Counter Corruption Commission. But the commission's reputation was bseriously tarnished in 2002. To effectively counter corruption, there must be a change of public mind-set. Thais are tolerant of corruption because they think, quite wrongly, that it does not affect their standard of living. There are corrupt officials and politicians who are revered by local people because of their contributions to the progress of their localities. But they finance these contributions by stealing money from other projects and areas and they do it in order to legitimize their excesses and other theft from the very people who perceive them as local benefactors. As long as public tolerance of corruption remains unchanged, it will be hard to fight against it. Large-scale civic education to raise public awareness of the harm caused by corrupt practices has to be taken seriously if Thailand is ever to break out of this vicious circle, which is holding back the country's development. The facts must be known A new chapter in social progress would have opened if Ramkhamhaeng University political science student Panthongthae Shinawatra had been found to have cheated in an exam, as reported by lecturer Wichote Wanno, and punished in accordance with the university's rules and regulations. Panthongthae, of course, is the son of Thailand's increasingly corrupt and dictatorial prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra Thai society at large would have learned a valuable lesson that in a democracy, all citizens, regardless of their social, economic and political standing, or even family name, are supposed to be treated as equal before the law. Ramkhamhaeng University, as an important institution of higher learning, owes it to the Thai public to demonstrate its self-professed commitment to the highest standards in its pursuit of academic excellence and the safeguarding of democratic ideals, particularly respect for the rule of law, transparency and good governance as this incident unravels.