The embedment of honesty culture to prevent and suppress corruption
จากไชต์: Office of The National Anti - Corruption Commission (ONACC)
จำนวนผู้เข้าชม: 228
Corruption has occurred everywhere around the world, intensified and remained as a challenge for every country to put an end to it. In Thailand, anti-corruption campaigns have been carried out at government agencies and state organizations in continual, serious manner whilst the private sector has also been infested with corruption to which such campaigns have been launched and effective solutions are yet to be adopted.
For instance, the Thai Private Sector Collective Action Against Corruption (CAC) focuses on the creation and expansion of private networks against corruption on a voluntary and cooperative basis. A total of 1,345 companies have shown intention to join the CAC. Of that number, 499 companies have been certified for adopting policies and measures to refuse to offer or accept bribery and other types of corruption.
Essential to such an anti-corruption scheme is to:
(1) Change the attitudes of business leaders to the extent that they refuse to get involved in all types of corruption.
(2) Encourage government agencies to enhance their operational procedures to be carried out on a transparency basis as well as to accept participation and inspection.
(3) Promote and expand business networks which remain free of corruption and monopoly as well as refrain from acquiring business advantages with payoff money and uphold anti-corruption policies.
Those business networks shall resolutely abide by the laws pertaining to fraud and corruption and refrain from handing out bribery to government personnel or private companies' officials inside or outside of the country.
Those business networks shall also support and promote their employees at all levels to have awareness against all types of fraud and corruption.
Besides, a case study was interestingly conducted on the steering of a private firm to be a good-governance organization with intent to create good and competent personnel. For example, Somboon Group (SBG) has the policy to manage human resources and do business in style of the so-called Somboon Triple Bottom Line in reference to:
-Smart People where values of the righteousness and competency are promoted among the personnel, their organization and society whilst valuable benefits are created for the personnel, their businesses and society on a sustainable basis.
-Business Trust where business values are created and increased with innovation for those who may share benefits on a good-governance and economic sufficiency basis.
-Growth Society where a strong society is created and peaceful co-existence is established whilst access to education and learning centers as well as a community-based economy is promoted.
Such good values and culture could be demonstrative, passed on from one generation to another and incessantly developed. People should be oriented for positive change, skills development and self-esteem whilst opposing corruption, working on the basis of transparency, good-governance and economic sufficiency.
Given anti-corruption collaboration between the public and private sectors, the corruption which has arisen with the offering of bribery made by private firms and the reception of it by government officials could be reduced to some extent.
The most efficient prevention to bribery is to prevent both sides from being involved in it. Without a bribe giver, there will be no recipient. The private sector needs not pay unnecessary costs. The production costs will not be reduced whilst the resolution toward transparency can be manifested and an otherwise violation of the law can be avoided.
Corruption may be divided into three levels:
(1) Small-sized corruption which refers to an unjust or unlawful reception of a small sum of payoff money by government personnel in exchange for some action done in favor of the bribe giver.
(2) Large-sized corruption which mostly involves high-level officials who may accept a very large sum of money in relation to large-scale infrastructure development projects to be implemented by certain contractors or involves some corruption-riddled policies.
(3) The handout of highly-valuable gifts such as automobiles, jewelry items and tickets to luxury tours in foreign countries.
In accordance with Section 143 of the Criminal Code, the handout and reception of a bribe is deemed guilty and corrupt due to the violation of the law. The recipient of the bribe who may perform as government officials or members of the National Legislative Assembly or members of provincial or municipal councils and may have exerted their influences in undue favor of any persons in return for some kickback money can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison or a maximum of 100,000 baht in fine or both.
In the meantime, under Section 144 of the anti-corruption law, the bribe giver who may have encouraged or pressed government officials or members of the National Legislative Assembly or provincial or municipal councils to do unlawful favors can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison or a maximum of 100,000 baht in fine or both.
In accordance with Section 149, government officials or members of the National Legislative Assembly or members of provincial or municipal councils who may have demanded or agreed to accept bribery or other undue benefits for themselves or others in exchange for the alleged abusing of their duties can be sentenced from a range of five to 20 years in prison to a life imprisonment or to a death penalty or a range of 100,000 to 400,000 baht in fine.
Thailand ranks among the world's top combatants of corruption with more than 200 sections of anti-corruption laws which warrant various penalties, maximally including a death penalty, but in some cases the enforcement of the laws remains an unsolved question due to lack of evidence or a whistleblower.
Thus, the campaign to embed the anti-corruption awareness, the prevention and collaboration against corruption among all public and private agencies concerned may be a better solution than the suppression of it. That is to say ''the country will prosper when it is administered in honesty.''
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