Corruption Runs Much Deeper Than A Few Bad Mps: Thailand

[timewilltell]

I for one, welcome this article. It highlights corruption and mentions just a few of its myriad forms. The headline is rather stupid from the point of stating the bleeding obvious but any article highlighting corruption as something bad is a welcome one.

However one must point the finger at the MP's first for it is they who make the laws and, to some extent at least, are elected to run the country for the benefit of the people. Unfortunately they run the government for the benefit of themselves with nary a glance at the people they pretend to represent. Before anyone says it, Thailand is not alone in the world in the selfishness of it's politicians but it is amongst the worst in the world and they are destroying the country and the poor suffer because of it.

Until the laws are changed to make corruption more difficult, make punishments greater and to make corruption a dangerous game nothing will improve. How to get a political party to pass those laws given the way Thais think, are educated and their beliefs that corruption is the best way to make money - that is the conundrum. For that to happen there needs to be a groundswell of public opinion against corruption as a way of life and a demand by the people for it to be tackled. We are a long way from that especially as most Thais are woefully ignorant about pretty much everything and happy to life a life of fun and irresponsibility.

[thomash]

I think the only hope to possibly stopping the massive amount of corruption in Thailand and changing the general Thai attitude that corruption is okay is for the 2 most highly respected institutions in Thailand, namely the Royal family and the Buddhist Monks, unite to do a massive campaign against it. They could really promote how Un-Buddhist like corruption is, how much it hurts the country, your fellow Thai and the Thai culture in general. Someone has to put their foot down to stop this and those 2 institutions are the only ones that have the moral authority to be successfully at doing this as most Thais in general do listen to and respect those 2 institutions . Otherwise I think it is hopeless and will only get worse.

For that yo happen, the Buddhist Monks have to stop being corrupt first.

Unfortunately, there are many, many examples of monks who preach water and drink wine and who absolute behave as un- buddhist as many "normal" Thais.

Yes that goes on in all organized religions just look at the Catholic Church and their sex scandals but hopefully you can find some who are not and would support this type of movement but most likely nothing will be done and it will just be corruption as usual in Thailand.

[antpet]

Corruption needs a corrupt political system; judicial system and private sector.

All three are inextricably linked.

Therefore, it is perfectly proper, acceptable and effective to start with the political system.

The article itself is part of the problem not the solution as it actually advocates starting elsewhere, spreading the focus, not highlighting the corrupt politicians. Therein lies the clue as it does not address the political system but rather the naming and shaming of those politicians caught out.

The fact is the world recognises Thailand for what it is. That is what matters. The self delusion does not.

The bigger concern is that where power lies elsewhere, particularly within the movement of a motivated populace, there has not been an effective protest from the proletariat. Others nations have embarked on civil war rather than live without democracy, under the heal of a dictator.

The Thaksin clan are nothing but meglamaniacs.

Until Thailand is finally torn down and started again with bodies hanging from lamp posts and lining the streets from government house and everyone a red shirted politician then Thailand will not learn from Syria, Libya, Egypt [the list does go on]. It remains a severed artery. Not pretty and not long for this world.

This century the demise of the tyrant will be achieved and the only hope for mankind is the removal of corruption. The banks have failed us. Change is inevitable. Like the mediavel age being replaced here with the 21st century [for some] corruption. The old guard, the feudal lords, the inequality, will be destroyed.

I wecome the party and reserve my ring side seat.

[givenall]

You don't SAY

[seminomadic]

I can't really see any other way than the start by cutting off the heads.

This is, in reality, the only solution that sees positive results as it has actual historical precedent. Mao Zedong made an example of one gov't official with his hand in the proverbial fortune cookie jar and graft, patronage & bribes stopped almost overnight. Stayed that way until Tienamen Square made bigwigs realize they could shut everybody up and get away with anything and the bullenscheisse started right back up with a fury.

Nothing more needs to be said than Thai at Heart's statement right there.

Edited December 12, 2012 by seminomadic

[Roadman]

Wake up. The problem in Thailand is not the politicians, it is the system. Is does not mater which party is in power ,the outcome is the same because the system is the root cause. This country is not run by politicians. What ever party is in power, it is controled by the capitalist elite and they have the most to loose. Politicians are meerly pawns in a much bigger game who take the opertunities provided to feather their nests while in office. The capitalist elite not only created this monster they continue to thrive and prosper as a result of it.

Level the playing field and see how many of these big money family conglomerates would crash and burn if not protected by the pet monster they perpetuate.

Correct in that it is the system.

However it is the politicans for the people that should be the ones who bring the change.

When one puts forward a level playing field as the answer the counter question is what is and who creates the level playing field? It certainly is not the Army as we end up with groundhog day and it is certainly not the elite as can be seen with the Shinwatra Dynasty Elite now bringing Thailand lower to its knees in unprecedented corruption and attempts at total right above the law for them and their cronies.

To stop the elite corrupt system the answer for any democracy is the people. However when one looks at the people there is a small minority who understands democarcy and then there is a mass who are happy with their election time ฿500 self purchase and the acceptance of corruption - khwai control by the Thaksin elite with a few Baht. And if that is the bottom line for the election time majority masses then Thailand has been dealt the governance what it deserves right now with the elite mafia politicans they deserve.

Level playing field? - the average Thaksin voter would not even know what a level playing field is. They will still not know even in another 10 - 20 years as they continue to bow to their new elite master Thaksin and his family Dynasty.

[crazydrummerpauly]

For a change, a pretty good, unhysterical article with some accurate points. But no, TV-ites cannot breathe without spewing sarcasm and abuse. Inaccuracies all through the comments, and attacks at straw-men, such as accusing the writer of not coming up with a solution - it is a commentary on a deep cultural problem, not a ministerial policy-document. And as for the usual description of Thailand as a 'Third World Country', which always gets Likes from the mob - please post evidence - the running open sewers ? the kids walking miles barefoot to school with no electricity ? the thousands who have no hospital facility within hundreds of miles ?...Ironically, you dismantle your own diatribes with that description - if it WAS a Third World country, then the corruption and deceit would not be as stunningly depressing as it is, in what is a relatively developed, affluent state.

Edited December 12, 2012 by crazydrummerpauly

[crazydrummerpauly]

Of course it's not all on the MP's and politicians, but they do quite their share to encourage corruption; there are several other mafias involved in Thailand:

1. The TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand), which would go over dead bodies "to promote and maintain the Tourism image of Amazing Thailand"; several travelers, young and old have been murdered, abused and oppressed by corrupt tour guides, police forces on several so called paradies islands like Koh Samui, Phuket or Krabi; furthermore those poor adventurers have been MYSTERIOUSLY POISENED, and none of their families are ever gonna get compensated, because TAT is too busy to promote Tourism Image...

2. The Telecommunication Networks of Thailand; Zero has been invested in proper infrastructure for technologies like 3G or real highspeed internet; the customer pays for a lousy service with several temporary disconnections, power outages, and slow connection speeds in prime time hours due to broadband traffic overload; Thailand still doesn't have 3G, and I guess the continues Finalization process about who RIPS the most benefits out of it, is still going to continue,... FREE WIFI INTERNET???? (STILL) NOT IN THAILAND.... even in places like Starbucks, you have to pay 120 Baht and more, while they already charge high prices for their coffee. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me almost everywhere else in the World Starbucks WIFI is for free, is it??? Nothing in Internet is really free...

3. The Education ministry of Thailand is f******ing and screwing around with millions of kids and students and their parents. POLICY AND CAMPAIGN WHAT??? It only sounds promising on the surface EVERY YEAR, but the results are all the same, procedures as well: Pack the classrooms full with 100 students, one teacher, and if there's a farang, he or she is screwed anyway, because they can't talk Thai and control 100+ students in a classroom; Teachers get ripped off anyway in many occassions, I know some friends who were teachers and who did get ripped odd by the so called agencies who wouldn't pay them or do all sorts of illegal stuff to them; for the students it means going through a workload of many, many examination processes and boring ass lessons that do not encourage self learning or critical thinking, or otherwise they get the sh***** beaten out by their Thai teachers; in other words, if you haven't got money, you can't learn any proper English or get into an overpriced International school

4. The Transportation ministry of Thailand; they invested ZERO in improving the railway system which has led to many deaths; BMTA who is responsible for BTS and MRT charge quite high prices for their usage; the bad thing is, for example at BTS, if you travel from or to the new stations and extention lines, you pay 15 Baht extra on your rabbit pass even if you have upgraded for 30-50 trips -> you still gotta pay extra, what an insult, which will cost at least 900+ Baht extra plus your 50 trips discount of 1000 Baht; that equals 2000 Baht a month (30-31 days)

5. the Water Management ministry of Thailand which sh****tloads on other provinces of Thailand, meaning literally: Protect Bangkok ONLY BANGKOK, and drain pump the water into other provinces. The so called water management plans only look scientific on the surface, to please the public in the hopes they would be stupid enough to buy into that crap, but in the end the citizens get ripped off; the local communities of other provinces get ripped off the most, because Government sponsored and protected greedy project managers get their okay to build dams in unprotected communities, to dump sh*****ty water on to them TO PROTECT BANGKOK; same tactic all over, sh****tload on other provinces in order to protect Bangkok...

The list actually goes on and on and on.... but those are just a few examples of the most dangerous mafia organizations in Thailand...

this is why as one OP stated , thailand is a 3rd world country with a few shiny bits

And he was simply wrong.

[gosompoi]

Make rewards 10x the corruption for whistle blowers and offer protection for the whistle blowers. Those paying the corruption do not have any protection or a real choice most of the time, if they do not pay they do not get jobs or contracts. The system in Thailand is you pay for your jobs, raises, transfers and contracts. For government employee's it can be 1 to 1 1/2 years of your income. If you do not pay you do not get. With my personal experience 0% comes by not paying and 100% comes by paying.

[timewilltell]

For a change, a pretty good, unhysterical article with some accurate points. But no, TV-ites cannot breathe without spewing sarcasm and abuse. Inaccuracies all through the comments, and attacks at straw-men, such as accusing the writer of not coming up with a solution - it is a commentary on a deep cultural problem, not a ministerial policy-document. And as for the usual description of Thailand as a 'Third World Country', which always gets Likes from the mob - please post evidence - the running open sewers ? the kids walking miles barefoot to school with no electricity ? the thousands who have no hospital facility within hundreds of miles ?...Ironically, you dismantle your own diatribes with that description - if it WAS a Third World country, then the corruption and deceit would not be as stunningly depressing as it is, in what is a relatively developed, affluent state.

Well your descriptions of a Third World Country do rather describe parts of Thailand. I have seen plenty of kids walking to school barefoot, there are plenty of areas where there are no proper hospitals easily reachable and many of the schools have either no electricity or inadequate electricity and there are also plenty of open sewers. However I think there are a few more criteria that are relevant. The problem unfortunately is for some reason there is no Second World classification - if there were then Thailand would fall into that. It is not in the same league as the Northern European countries or even most of the Southern European countries, it is not in the same league as Singapore or Japan either. So I don;t think it quite makes 'First World' classification either. it may be close but not there yet.

[whimsy]

The problem unfortunately is for some reason there is no Second World classification - if there were then Thailand would fall into that. It is not in the same league as the Northern European countries or even most of the Southern European countries, it is not in the same league as Singapore or Japan either. So I don;t think it quite makes 'First World' classification either. it may be close but not there yet.

Yes there is (or was) a second world. It referred to the Soviet aligned countries. Third world referred to the countries aligned with neither the US or Russia. As this cold war term has become almost meaningless now, a much more useful term is the IMF's classification of developing, newly industrialised, advanced emerging markets, and Developed economies. Thailand is currently in the newly industrialised category, Malaysia is an advanced emerging market and Singapore is an advanced (or developed) economy.

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia....eloping_country

[Sayonarax]

No its not, your lying!

[besth]

Corruption runs much deeper than a few bad MPs

This is News???

[Ricardo]

The problem unfortunately is for some reason there is no Second World classification - if there were then Thailand would fall into that. It is not in the same league as the Northern European countries or even most of the Southern European countries, it is not in the same league as Singapore or Japan either. So I don;t think it quite makes 'First World' classification either. it may be close but not there yet.

There was the 'Old World', Europe and a few other countries.

Then they discovered the 'New World' across the Atlantic.

Leaving the rest as 'Third World'.

This is of course now a very outdated way of viewing things ... but I'd argue that Thailand is no-longer Third-World, that's Africa or Burma or Cambodia, but definitely not modern-Thailand.