'Graft Is Good': A Wake-Up Call To Take Issue Seriously; Thai Opinion

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

'Graft is good': a wake-up call to take issue seriously

By The Nation

Poll's shocking finding shows we are all responsible for moral slide towards culture of corruption

A new survey by Abac poll on how we perceive corruption, produced the alarming finding that the majority of Thais, especially young adults, believe graft is acceptable.

The survey released last week found that 64.5 per cent of respondents said they had no problem with government corruption in certain cases: first, if the corrupt government could make the country prosper, second, if corruption promoted people's well-being, and third, if corruption benefited the poll's respondents.

The percentage of those happy to see a corrupt government as long as they themselves benefited was particularly large (70 per cent) among respondents aged under 20 and between 20 and 29.

If this survey proves to be an effective measure of our moral judgement, we have to acknowledge the sad fact that our ethical standards are deteriorating, especially among the young generation. And who else is there to blame for this deterioration but we adults, who set the standards for youngsters?

It is a universally held belief that corruption is evil. Corruption is the enemy of development and good governance. It is absolutely wrong for government agencies or officials to abuse the system for their own material benefit at the expense of the overall benefit to society.

However, it seems the majority of Thais now no longer have a problem with corruption if they also benefit, albeit in the short-term, from the abusive practices. These citizens could live with corruption as long as they can get a "slice of the cake".

The graft-happy respondents have apparently quantified their moral standards into the amount of money they would earn. Their moral judgement is based on the material benefit they would receive, not on selfless values for the greater good. It begs the question, are we reaching a point where we are accepting corruption as a social norm?

But these 65 per cent of respondents are not totally blameworthy (and at least they were honest enough to say what they thought). Rather, corruption has become so pervasive in our society because everyone shares the responsibility for letting the disease grow to such a chronic and almost incurable level.

We must all accept a share of the blame for creating the environment in which graft has flourished. First, corruption has increasingly become acceptable at an individual level. Second, in spite all the anticorruption rhetoric, Thai society has cherished people who achieve material wealth while ignoring the means - too often questionable - by which they amassed their fortunes. Third, our system of governance has failed to punish politicians or people accused of corruption, even when we see their scandal-mired names in newspaper headlines on a daily basis.

In addition, many of us have voted back to power politicians who have never cleared their names after corruption scandals. This is despite the fact that in other Asian countries such as Japan, a single, minor corruption charge can end a politician's career.

We like to casually discuss how bad corruption is, but we have become complacent about it. Now, this Abac poll should serve as wake-up call for everyone to act and address the issue seriously.

For those who might not care about the ethical side of the issue, here's our argument: pervasive corruption will also wreck the country's competitiveness and the ability of the common man to earn more money. Dusit Nontanakorn, chairman of the Board of Trade and Thai Chamber of Commerce, recently warned that corruption would be the biggest obstacle to Asean Economic Community integration. The cost of business would increase because of the large amount of money allocated for bribery.

Corruption robs people - especially the have-nots - of the opportunity to better themselves, because they do not have the money or power to engage in bribery.

Some may be happy to receive short-term benefits from corruption but, ultimately, graft undermines the fair and just environment that gives them, along with the rest of us, the opportunity to prosper.

We are all responsible for corruption, even the 35.5 per cent of respondents who said they would not tolerate it. We have been deprived of our voice to say the right thing and, for a long time now, we have failed to raise our voices against this evil.

-- The Nation 2011-07-26

[GazR]

Well said.

I remember discussing this with a younger foreign-educated Thai colleague at the Stock exchange when we worked together there just before the East Asian Financial Crisis destroyed the reputation of Dr. Olarn and faith in just about everything in Thailand except the King and the extended family support. Younger colleague opined that grease makes the wheels turn easier / there's poor fishing if the water's too clear - to which I replied that may be true as far as it goes, but it's a big problem in terms of international economic competitiveness.

A rueful smile was the only reply.

[SomTumTiger]

EDITORIAL

'Graft is good': a wake-up call to take issue seriously

By The Nation

Poll's shocking finding shows we are all responsible for moral slide towards culture of corruption

What is so shocking about it? LOL Answer? Nothing.

[hellodolly]

EDITORIAL

'Graft is good': a wake-up call to take issue seriously

By The Nation

Poll's shocking finding shows we are all responsible for moral slide towards culture of corruption

What is so shocking about it? LOL Answer? Nothing.

Well I was a little shocked when it said Thailand's sliding down hill. I thought in regards to corruption it had always been there.

They claim

"we have to acknowledge the sad fact that our ethical standards are deteriorating, especially among the young generation"

I beg to disagree now people are just more honest about it. They have always known it was there and approved of it. They just had not been honest enough to admit it.

Now sense they have elected Thaksin a known corrupter they have lost the fear of admitting it.:jap:

Thai's have always excepted corruption.

[OzMick]

Rare that you get a survey so readily accepted by all and sundry. A bit hard to dispute after the election, I suppose.

[animatic]

If the ethical standards of the young are deteriorating,

then the adults who came before must take the blame...

...

...

....

oh wait, it's Farangs they are ruining todays youth.

Better take another poll, worded to prove this is so.

Edited July 26, 2011 by animatic

[bushwacker]

I agree Oz. The election says it all.

[edgarfriendly]

"ethical standards"

Here?

Hahahahaha!

yea, right. cos they used to be so much more transparent and honest and sincere and and and...

reap what u sow, and then cry about it and blame foreigners later..

IE - singapore are so terrible for buying something the best man in the worldTM was selling TAXFREE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE ENTIRE NATION...... sinagpore bad, taksin and fam, so good i'll kill myself if bla bla bla and bla bla bla. ethical standards.

Tell that to those of us suffering.

ef

REAP IT

[EyesWideOpen]

Corruption is the process of taking money from the little people, and shifting it up the ladder so the people at the top can afford strings of mia nois, mansions, and Mercedes cars for their idiot kids. The rich people are certainly not stealing from each other.......Am always amazed the people at the bottom cannot see that. But I suppose the relentless denial of education to the rural people blinds them to this obvious conception. The fact that these polls keep pointing to the fact that the normal Thai person thinks corruption is great is truly sad. What an amazing country this would be if not for corruption. And to the apologists, I am not leaving....I will just dodge around the pot holes in the new roads that were laid with one inch of pavement over the dirt..

[rreddin]

EDITORIAL

'Graft is good': a wake-up call to take issue seriously

By The Nation

Poll's shocking finding shows we are all responsible for moral slide towards culture of corruption

What is so shocking about it? LOL Answer? Nothing.

" It begs the question, are we reaching a point where we are accepting corruption as a social norm?" No, that point was passed decades ago. Similar results to this survey were found in the early 1990's by Pasuk Phongpaichit and Sungsidh Piriyarangsan , see Corruption & Democracy in Thailand ISBN 978-974-7100-31-0. SomTumTiger rightly says there is nothing shocking about these results. I might add a caveat. The shocking thing about these results is that they were predictable.

What we from so called Western countries see as corruption, Thais see as sin nam jai - a gift of goodwill. It has been like this since about 1890 when tax collectors were first appointed save that they were unpaid and expected to remunerate themselves from the revenues they collected. Subsequent constitutional amendments aimed at eliminating graft have only institutionalized it. It is now so deeply ingrained into every aspect of Thai life that it will take generations to eliminate.

Instead of expressing false moral indignation, the Nation ought take the lead in reducing corruption. The realtionship between the press, the police and politicians would be a good place to start.

[scorecard]

EDITORIAL

'Graft is good': a wake-up call to take issue seriously

By The Nation

Poll's shocking finding shows we are all responsible for moral slide towards culture of corruption

What is so shocking about it? LOL Answer? Nothing.

Well I was a little shocked when it said Thailand's sliding down hill. I thought in regards to corruption it had always been there.

They claim

"we have to acknowledge the sad fact that our ethical standards are deteriorating, especially among the young generation"

I beg to disagree now people are just more honest about it. They have always known it was there and approved of it. They just had not been honest enough to admit it.

Now sense they have elected Thaksin a known corrupter they have lost the fear of admitting it.:jap:

Thai's have always excepted corruption.

"Sliding down hill". Watch it slide more and accelerate, coming very soon ...

[scorecard]

Corruption is the process of taking money from the little people, and shifting it up the ladder so the people at the top can afford strings of mia nois, mansions, and Mercedes cars for their idiot kids. The rich people are certainly not stealing from each other.......Am always amazed the people at the bottom cannot see that. But I suppose the relentless denial of education to the rural people blinds them to this obvious conception. The fact that these polls keep pointing to the fact that the normal Thai person thinks corruption is great is truly sad. What an amazing country this would be if not for corruption. And to the apologists, I am not leaving....I will just dodge around the pot holes in the new roads that were laid with one inch of pavement over the dirt..

I suggest there's another angle. Thailand will not get out of it's politic mess until a much greater number of the middle classes have better education, and rise up, with credible dialogue and structured arguments, and demand change. Same as in most 'developed' countries in the world. History will repeat itself.

When that does eventually happen, and it will, highly credible Thai leaders will also emerge from the dark (and there are plenty of credible, capable, honest and sincere people available, but right now now they don't want to association with the currect leeeches and thieves who run Thailand.)

At the same time, the 'middle classes' will be more vocal about the levels of development in many of the surrounding countries - more and more Thai people will ask the question and demand answers - 'why do so many people in the surrounding countries have a good quality of life?'

Corruption will then, IMHO get some real attention.

But the current incapable, insincere leeches and thieves will fight tooth and nail to stop change.

we just saw an example, lots of discussion about pork prices, lots of simple handouts, but no policy whatever to build capability (no increased budget for education, in fact education not even mentioned) and no policies which would untimately generate opportunities which would mean that a lot more Thais could gain a better quality of life through their own productivity.

It's gunna take a long time.

[osiboy]

EDITORIAL

'Graft is good': a wake-up call to take issue seriously

By The Nation

Poll's shocking finding shows we are all responsible for moral slide towards culture of corruption

What is so shocking about it? LOL Answer? Nothing.

" It begs the question, are we reaching a point where we are accepting corruption as a social norm?" No, that point was passed decades ago. Similar results to this survey were found in the early 1990's by Pasuk Phongpaichit and Sungsidh Piriyarangsan , see Corruption & Democracy in Thailand ISBN 978-974-7100-31-0. SomTumTiger rightly says there is nothing shocking about these results. I might add a caveat. The shocking thing about these results is that they were predictable.

What we from so called Western countries see as corruption, Thais see as sin nam jai - a gift of goodwill. It has been like this since about 1890 when tax collectors were first appointed save that they were unpaid and expected to remunerate themselves from the revenues they collected. Subsequent constitutional amendments aimed at eliminating graft have only institutionalized it. It is now so deeply ingrained into every aspect of Thai life that it will take generations to eliminate.

Instead of expressing false moral indignation, the Nation ought take the lead in reducing corruption. The realtionship between the press, the police and politicians would be a good place to start.

well said rreddin, some good points there and i totaly agree, especially the point about the press having a responsibility , the problem as i see it though would be as the corruption is so ingrained in the thai "dna", the press would be to afraid to say how it is, or point the finger at suspects of graft , if they did i think reporters would be dropping like flies , as you know ,life is so cheap here ........ who would dare point the finger ?? who ever would cast the first stone ?? , its too deep in the system to ever be eliminated , a starting point maybe to see the reports/outcome of court cases so we can see who is getting away with murder .........literally !!

[cup-O-coffee]

This subject is a slippery slope, to say the least.

But isn't it possible that in certain times, corruption is a means whereby to override ineffective laws and the "slow-as-tree-sap" processes to change those laws, or even to use corruption as a means to provide a sling to support the people while goodly laws on the dockets are becoming so diluted as to become in themselves ineffective by the time they are ratified?

It lends thought to the idea that governments really are run by the people, for the people and of the people, whether the governments are willing to honor that, or not!

Go against the people, and the people consciously or unconsciously rebel, because they are simply human beings who don't care about the BS that goes on at higher levels and that have absolutely no benefit to them either now or in their lifetimes. Even a stray dog will go where it has to in order to find food. Is that dog corrupt?

People just want to have a good life and wake up every morning with a bit of hope that things are getting better for themselves. You can't smile outside until you have a smile inside. If cheating is illegal, then who is to say that the laws aren't marching in step with the majority of people's issues? Isn't that also wrong; to be so caught up in an oligarch of BS that the ones who put you there are being forgotten and don't care whether they cut a few corners to make their day better, or to do it our of bitterness and resentment for not having a fairly represented voice?

Just an idea.

Edited July 26, 2011 by cup-O-coffee

[DP25]

Instead of expressing false moral indignation, the Nation ought take the lead in reducing corruption. The realtionship between the press, the police and politicians would be a good place to start.

The relationship between the press, the police, and the politicians is that the politicians have the police arrest the press when they expose corruption.

Edited July 26, 2011 by DP25

[EyesWideOpen]

Instead of expressing false moral indignation, the Nation ought take the lead in reducing corruption. The realtionship between the press, the police and politicians would be a good place to start.

The relationship between the press, the police, and the politicians is that the politicians have the police arrest the press when they expose corruption.

Spot on. There is something truly odd about Thailand, when the bearer of bad news is punished more than the creator of the bad news.....

[Thai at Heart]

What odds the only reason this article was written is because it was discussed over many pages on TV?

I wonder if any of the local papers have written the same type of editorial piece? These types of articles have a habit of being only for the eyes of Westerners to make us feel that maybe things may change in Thailand. If 60% approved, I would suggest that in reality, that means that 99% of the population indulge in it. Most do if it is necessary.

[remiss]

Well, I dunno, but apparently italian government corruption costs €60bn pr year... Anyway regarding TH, to quote Nathaniel Branden "The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance." -- so guess we're just waiting on the next step?

Although I must admit I sometimes wish I could pay to get things to go faster in Norway...