Will the new administration be able to put an end to corruption?
จากไชต์: Office of The National Anti - Corruption Commission (ONACC)
จำนวนผู้เข้าชม: 152
“Will the new government be able to eradicate corruption? Corruption is a hefty cost for businesses and it spreads to all businesses, be it large, medium, or small. Will the new administration have the courage to take action against corruption that fear no influence?” said Ms. Worawan Tarapoom, a well-known financial and investment executive.
It is worth noting that, during the last general election campaign, there were eight political parties that proposed stringent solutions to corruption-related issues such as bribery in public procurement; registration and license request, bribery for promotions, transparency in public services, use of technology, information disclosure, freedom of people and the press, inspection mechanisms, and responsibilities of political parties and leaders. These issues were considered by them as urgent matters to be addressed and included in the national agenda.
In the past, the government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha was the first government to announce to the parliament its anti-corruption policy during its second inauguration in 2019, saying that it will focus on tackling corruption in the bureaucratic system and politics. The administration also said it would seriously enforce the laws, use technology to improve public services, and encourage public participation. The PM himself announced on many occasions that anti-corruption was on the national agenda. But what really happened?
From 2015 and 2017, the government responded very well to opinions of the people and the private sector. There was a clear signal (political will) sent to all government officials on how to deal with corruption. Back then, the people and businesses seemed to applaud the government’s efforts. Government agencies pushed for mechanisms and laws to tackle procurement problems, improved services for those requesting official permissions, updated outdated laws, and empowered anti-corruption agencies. As a result, the country’s CPI, Corruption Barometer, and Corruption Situation Index (CSI) improved.
The previous government’s achievement showed that we could fight corruption if all parties were dedicated and government leaders were serious about it.
To date, Thailand has developed over 720 e-services for the public and the business sector, including digital government services and public procurement that meets international standards. Nevertheless, many government agencies and ministers reportedly did not pay enough attention to such anti-corruption efforts – some of them even took advantage of the weaknesses of the bureaucratic system.
Well-thought-out efforts to reduce outdated laws seemed to come to a halt as well.
Today, the confidence of the society seems to disappear. Corruption in government megaprojects, political corruption, public policy corruption, abuse of state power, and bribery in both central and local bureaucracy have erupted even more violently. Measures to create transparency in procurement such as the Integrity Pact Project have been rejected by a number of government agencies.
Such regression leads to the question that “Is Thailand becoming a society of corruption?” It’s definitely not true to say that European or Asian people from countries such as Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong are better and smarter than Thai people in dealing with corruption.
What we need to consider is why many political parties announced more stringent anti-corruption policies. Why were the last election debates full of corruption issues?
This can be explained by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce's survey on policies of political parties and politicians in the 2023 election conducted three months before the election. The survey found that people were ready to give their votes to the parties that had clear guidelines to tackle corruption.
Another proof is that many politicians and groups with a history of corruption were defeated in the national polls, suggesting that politicians must take responsibilities for their actions otherwise they would be punished by society in the future.
Let’s hope that politicians in the coalition government will keep their word. The new government must clearly declare its anti-corruption policy to the parliament and seriously implement it. Opposition politicians must learn how to scrutinize the government to prevent corruption and all parties should cooperate with the new government’s anti-corruption efforts.
We used to pin our hopes on the 1997 constitution, a.k.a. the "Anti-Corruption Constitution" because it had measures and stipulated the establishment of an independent organization to combat corruption. Our hoped became stronger with the 2007 constitution which was dubbed "the constitution that fights corruption." It was believed to return power to the people. But in the end, the corruption situation is as bad as we can see.
The lessons from the last election taught us that only those with anti-corruption literacy and enthusiasm could make government leaders and politicians perform their duty in the best interest of the country.
We should never lose hope in the Thai society and rest assured that the new administration will be able to control and eradicate corruption in the near future.
Dr. Mana Nimitmongkol
Secretary-General of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand
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