Government declares war on corruption throughout 2006

BANGKOK: -- The government is determined to fight corruption among its officials throughout 2006, Government Spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said on Sunday.

The national economy is expected to steadily improve and social and political situations will become more stable than last year.

Government personnel -- ranging from ministers to permanent secretaries and other senior officials attached to varied agencies -- have been instructed to carry out their projects in a transparent and honest fashion.

Those found by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to have been involved in any wrongdoing will be severely punished with both disciplinary and criminal charges.

Government processes in bidding and procurement are required to be corruption-free and examinable at all levels, the government spokesman said.

Dr. Surapong said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to lead a government campaign against poverty in a demonstrative area of Atchsamart District in the northeastern Ro-Et Province from January 16-21.

Young men will be encouraged to refrain from misconducts involving the use of cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and pornography.

Adolescents are advised to turn to sports and other constructive activities.

War on pornography

The prime minister is scheduled to declare war on pornography on National Children's Day on January 14.

Dr. Surapong said the government had also resolved to modernize Thailand by inviting private investment in varied government-supported mega projects, including infrastructure, water resource development, education and technological advances and electronics, which are expected to be materialized by mid 2006.

Thailand can become a regional hub in commercial aviation with the launching of Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi International Airport, he added.

Though the country had gone through the hardships of 2005 - including bird flu, impacts of the tsunami in December 2004, insurgency in the deep South and rising oil prices, among others -- the national economy is expected to remain stable and improve throughout the New Year.

--TNA 2006-01-01

PM pledges to 'cleanse' country

Answers wanted in case of missing lawyer

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has declared that his priority for this year will be to "cleanse" the country of all thugs, vices and bribery and find answers to the disappearance of Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, among other unresolved criminal cases.

Mr Thaksin sweetened his end-of-year statement on the weekly radio programme 'Prime Minister Talks to the People' with more promises to flush out the bad eggs.

All government resources would go into suppressing corrupt individuals, mafia figures and godfathers, extortionists and bribe-takers by September this year.

Failure to meet the deadline could cost law enforcers their jobs, the prime minister said.

Mr Thaksin said he was not making an empty promise. "What the government has set out to do is certainly not to scrape off the surface [of the problem]. No-one is above the law and I will act with full authority," he said. The operation will start with a meeting of the justice minister, justice permanent secretary, director-general of the Department of Special Investigations and the police.

High-profile criminal cases which have been left unresolved in recent years will be dusted off and more intensely investigated.

Mr Thaksin said the "dormant" case involving the disappearance in March 2004 of Mr Somchai needed a push.

The Neelaphaijit family and supporters of Mr Somchai, a well-known human rights defender, have taken the government to task for dragging its feet, complaining that almost two years have passed without any headway in the investigation.

Mr Somchai's fate remains unknown. On March 4, 2004, Mr Somchai lodged an appeal with the Bangkok Criminal Court for five suspects _ accused of looting weapons from an armoury and killing soldiers guarding the installation in Narathiwat on Jan 4 that year _ to be treated with fairness.

According to Mr Somchai's family, the front door of their home had been smashed several days before Mr Somchai vanished.

Witnesses said Mr Somchai was speaking with men in front of the Mae La Pla Pao Restaurant on Ramkhamhaeng Road on the evening of March 12, the day he went missing. He got out of his car to talk to the men and was later forced into another car and whisked away. Mr Somchai's car was later found near the Mor Chit Bus Transport Station.

Mr Thaksin ordered a working team to probe the case. The investigators reported little progress although on April 8, 2004, four police officers were arrested and charged as suspects in the lawyer's disappearance.

Mr Thaksin said another "unfinished business" which the government vowed to straighten out was the murder of Phra Supoj Suvacano, a conservationist monk, in Chiang Mai in June last year.

The murder sparked an outcry from disciples and environmental groups who slammed the authorities' inability to deliver justice. The groups deplored the lawlessness, which they said the government was powerless to do anything about.

Phra Supoj was stabbed to death in the living compound of his Mettadhamma Buddhist Centre in Chiang Mai's Fang district on the night of June 17.

The clergyman was respected for his efforts to protect the centre's forest land from encroachment by influential figures. Police tried to put down Phra Supoj's death as having been perpetrated by angry villagers who were forbidden by the monk from cutting down bamboo grown at the temple.

Turning to corruption, Mr Thaksin said the government was committed to weeding out graft in price-intervention programmes. He said a special panel would be formed exclusively to supervise the rice paddy mortgage scheme, which has been highly susceptible to foul play orchestrated by officials and businessmen.

Mr Thaksin admitted that all kinds of con artists had "feasted" on the scheme for a long time and they were hard to catch. The special panel would single them out for prosecution.

The prime minister said 2005 had been a rather troubling year for his administration, which had encountered many political hiccups. But no problem was too serious for the government to handle.

He attributed the government's rough sailing to the senate election in April, saying there are some aspiring candidates intent on raising their profile by staging "political activities" to mock the government.

Mr Thaksin said the government would work harder this year to fulfill its policy promises. Apart from revving up the crime suppression campaign, the poverty eradication policy would go hand-in-hand with enhancement of the country's competitiveness.

--Bangkok Post 2006-01-02

"OK, I've got mine so let's wipe out corruption starting now."

Start with hinself.

But I thought he was going to make Thailand the corruption hub of SE Asia.

Same old , same old

The success & seriousness of the campaign should be measured by the number of TRT/government-supporters arrested and successfully prosecuted

He must have not heard the old saying!

"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones"

PKG

So, who is going to get arrested for corruption first: Thakin's wife or his sister?

So, who is going to get arrested for corruption first:  Thakin's wife or his sister?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Joseph Massino

Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr. Joseph Massino has said he will crack down on corruption in the U.S.A

Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra has said he will crack down on corruption in Thailand.

If you know who Mr Massino is you will understand the irony of Mr.Thaksin's statement.

Where will he find enough honest policemen and judges to arrest and jail the dishonest people.

He will need about 1000 more jails to put them all in and enough honest prison staff to man them.

I suspect that as usual nothing much will happen.

I suspect that as usual nothing much will happen.

Do you mean the same as the half-dozen or more other times that Mr. Big has claimed that he's really serious this time about a crackdown on corruption?

I suspect that as usual nothing much will happen.

Do you mean the same as the half-dozen or more other times that Mr. Big has claimed that he's really serious this time about a crackdown on corruption?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought it was more than that.

Government declares war on corruption throughout 2006

BANGKOK: --  The government is determined to fight corruption among its officials throughout 2006, Government Spokesman  Surapong Suebwonglee said on Sunday.

--TNA 2006-01-01

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, his statement acknowledges that the government has many corrupted officials else why need to declare a one year war on this? Which then implies that TRT has many corrputed peoiple inside since they are the government.

there are too many bad eggs to be flushed out ,it cannot be done, its too late now.

the cancer has spread too far and wide .

Government declares war on corruption throughout 2006

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's good to see that Mr Shinawatra's side-splitting sense of humour will continue in 2006. HaHa!