In danger of being a nation run by thieves: Thai editorial

[toenail]

I think a prime example of how corruption can sink a nation is the Asian country of the Philippines. Back in the 60's it was making great progress in its development but the massive corruption and poverty anchored down its development and now the country is in such a sad condition that its main money maker is outsourcing its citizens to work in other countries since there are no opportunities in their own country. With Thailand, there may be hope if only the people in the rural areas could be better educated and taught to "think" instead of following. When the majority of the citizens think corruption is acceptable as long as it makes THEIR LIFE better ( -does this include the discount for first car owners?... free tablets give to students in schools?....rice scam?) then there isn't light at the end of the tunnel.

Edited July 4, 2013 by angiud
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[arthurboy]

Pointless article, utterly pointless.

[sjjmmi]

IS And has been for a long time

Edited July 4, 2013 by metisdead
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[DaamNaam]

"In" danger, what a joke. Has been for eons. And until a complete wipeout of the old school way of thinking occurs nothing here will change.

Edited July 4, 2013 by angiud
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[technologybytes]

Of course, so many nations worldwide are run by thieves that one more will hardly matter.

[MaxLee]

The greatest thieves in Thailand rule RIGHT AT THE TOP AND THEY SPIT DOWN TO THE BOTTOM like the nation and the clueless foreigners are a scum to their standards, and they get their orders from the man in Dubai

[crazykopite]

SAME SAME Nothing will change !!!!!!!!!

[givenall]

Too Late

[Netizen]

After seeing these anti-corruption headlines for many years, I am beginning

to see the glimmer of a strategy here. For the powers that be, this strategy seems to be to steal as much money as possible, while at the same time have the media pump out these repetitive nonsensical headlines about how corruption is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Yet for some reason nothing is ever done......

My general sense is that corruption instead of being addressed, has actually increased to mind boggling levels. The rice scam, and the proposed 2 trillion baht infrastructure project with its implied 30 percent looting levels are just fresh examples of that....

Just saw this from the post above. "......51.2% said corruption by government officials was acceptable as long as it improved their living conditions." This points to a fundamental flaw in the thinking of the average Thai. Corruption harms the public, as the money that is supposed to be for the public benefit instead is siphoned off to a Swiss bank account or a house in London. What the Thai public gets seems to be an endless series of shoddy infrastructure projects. Guess the payments to the mia nois at least stay in Thailand... :-)

You have to judge this 51.2% in the context of the red shirt supporters who benefit from corruption. It is intuitive that those that benefit from corruption are not going to oppose it because they are already accessories to the crime of corruption.

[rollrunna]

The Thai ethos of corruption is taught and starts at the very top to down... just google the wealth...who is....

[brimacthai]

It is not in danger of being runs by theives

It already is run by thieves whose sole interest i personal gain / profit of themselves, family and friends

I think they are trying to climb the list of most corrupt countries

There goal for 2013 is to crack the top 10

trying to climb? I think they've reached the top already!

[rametindallas]

The USA is bought and paid for by the Banksters. Thailand's politicians are rank amateurs compared to US politicians. Thailand's corrupt politicians are so obvious that it is entertaining to watch and read about them lying badly/baldly.

[huangnon]

The USA is bought and paid for by the Banksters. Thailand's politicians are rank amateurs compared to US politicians. Thailand's corrupt politicians are so obvious that it is entertaining to watch and read about them lying badly/baldly.

Agreed. It's always been the same in Thailand in my 20 years here, just with a rotating roster of snouts in the trough of public funds.

At least the media here aren't totally in the pockets of the fraudsters. People in the West have been totally shafted by their banks, their politicians, the EU, etc with a lapdog media / press actively in cahoots, or asleep at the wheel.

[toenail]

The best business in Thailand is to be a politician followed by being a policeman. When a public project is run by those that pay the "highest bid" instead of qualifications, the public gets screwed. This is evident when visiting the airport, or riding the BTS with limited cars and increasingly expensive or sidewalks that last a few months before the bricks start popping to name just a few projects. I wonder when Thais will say enough is enough.

I think the more Thais that travel outside of their country and visit other developing (or developed) modern Asian countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, or Taiwan, they will see how corruption in their own country keeps their country from "functioning" smoothly. I was with two of my Thai buddies that traveled with me to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Their first time to be outside of their country.They were amazed (can I say shocked) how organized, clean, and developed these countries were. They were always comparing Thailand to Laos or Cambodia. Now, they are more critical in how things are managed in Thailand.

[gemini81]

It is not in danger of being runs by theives

It already is run by thieves whose sole interest i personal gain / profit of themselves, family and friends

I think they are trying to climb the list of most corrupt countries

There goal for 2013 is to crack the top 10

Plus the fact it has been known to have been run by thieves for decades.

[IBoldnewguy]

Surely the people of Thailand are not dumb enough to fall for this nonsense forever. Surely!

Wish I lived in a country where I could point my finger and say. Surely the people of The USA are not dumb enough to fall for this nonsense forever. Surely! But I do and they are.... and they will.... so maybe my proposed move to LOS is to live where I can relax and enjoy being ignorant of the language and hypocrisy.

[hgma]

The state of the nation.

ANYTHING that improves the livelyhood of the ordinairy citizens is accepted.

[Toscano]

The list of potential offenders goes down as far as regional civil servants and regional policemen .

Corruption starts in the home , mothers bribe to get a place for their child at a good school .

Parents bribe teachers to sit an exam with a student , for a sum a university lecture may sit an exam in place of the student .

Even the most respectable do it , corruption is part of the way of life and not seen as a crime at all , because everyone does it in one way or another .

Next you will find the person selected to prevent corruption , becoming rich on bribes not to see it .

[Kruzon]

Corruption and graft is a huge problem and in Thailand Thais are witness to it from the day they enter their first school. Thai children school grades are not according to their abilities as no Thai child fails but his or her grades are influenced by the amount the parents paid extra to the school for higher marks.

Most foreigner teachers work without work permits but the schools and their agents still receive their near 60,000 baht for the foreigner teacher of which the foreigner teacher generally receives less than 30,000 with the balance going to the agents 20,000 and the school 10,000 or the school retains 100% of the amount not paid to the foreigner English teachers. We know this can only exist by paying graft to the school investigators.

Graft and corruption exists in most every government. U.S.A. president after president has proven how they fix elections, lie to their citizens and how they take care of their big business buddies and their war machine.

Thailand's graft and corruption is rampant, extremely visible and out of control at the schools, the post office, immigration and all levels of gov't!

[Donnie Brasco]

As if . . . . . . . as . . . . . if . . . . . . ;-) :-)

[monkeycountry]

"many of them have been convicted for corruption and sentenced to terms of imprisonment or other punishment"

Can we get a few examples of high level politicians or policemen currently in prison for corruption, not just sentenced to prison? My guess is that "many" = zero.

[deecee10]

Another exercise in window-dressing.

[kermit the frog]

The problem with Thais seems to be their inability to see beyond their immediate needs.

I read this in a comment by EyesWideOpen:

"......51.2% said corruption by government officials was acceptable as long as it improved their living conditions."

What they don't seem to understand is that in the long term, this kind of thing is actually detrimental to the growth of their nation. Like overpricing... If I get overpriced, I won't go back to that place ever again, so while they may have gotten more money out of me on that one occasion, they also lose a good customer.

Will they ever learn?

[Maggusoil]

Join the club. Perhaps, after a long and costly series of exercises (maybe a few trips here and there in the region and the world), a few minor officials will be put on trial, and lots of reports will be written, but not much will change. In reality I do not believe that Thailand is any more or less corrupt than any other country. It is just in the west that the corruption is better hidden and overlooked. Good luck guys, and remember to duck just in case you do accidentally uncover real corruption of any truly important.

For Thailand to be more corrupt than other nations, would mean that the human's here are less likely to be opportunists. It is simply not the case and I agree with Ianatlarge.

Corruption in Australia is better hidden. For lower end officials, it has become more difficult, but at the top end it is business as usual for a country run by lawyers. Lets not define lawyers further.

Every now and then a tip of the iceberg gets exposed. There is a satisfactory hue and cry in the media and the iceberg floats on quietly. More quietly than before. People learn from example, how to communicate secretly more effectively. How "not" to reveal intentions in emails and sms and on pillow talk.

These anti corruption commissioners, should each be equipped with at least two forensic accountants that can trace the money trails effectively and they should then be bound by some sort of results clause, evaluated yearly.

[monkeycountry]

Join the club. Perhaps, after a long and costly series of exercises (maybe a few trips here and there in the region and the world), a few minor officials will be put on trial, and lots of reports will be written, but not much will change. In reality I do not believe that Thailand is any more or less corrupt than any other country. It is just in the west that the corruption is better hidden and overlooked. Good luck guys, and remember to duck just in case you do accidentally uncover real corruption of any truly important.

It is a shame that you think all countries are equally corrupt. In scandinavian countries (as in example) it is headline news if a minister has spent too much money on wine or plane tickets, even though the amounts in question are negligable - often the result will be public outrage and for the person to step down. Further, at least in some of those countries, by law, the public can request access to any and all government papers, emails, budgets, accounts etc in order to ensure transparency. The result of this is that the newspapers, in their eager to find todays headline, are trawling through everything, which makes it almost impossible for anyone to cheat without being exposed. Thirdly, most people in those countries are strictly against corruption, so if a staff member or similar of a politician finds any wrongdoing, they will most likely send an anonymous tip to the local newspaper. Last but not least, by law, there is complete press freedom, so the newspapers are not at all intimidated by anyone in power.

I am not saying there is no corruption at all in those countries, but saying that it is more or less the same as Thailand is simply ridiculous!

Further, the wealth of politicians and anyone else in power is routinely checked, and they are very good at checking, so if anyone suddenly got rich without a good explanation, he/she would be in trouble.

Edited July 4, 2013 by monkeycountry

[britinthai]

From the top down all the way to the cleaners cat

[venturalaw]

"This month the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is going to select members for all provinces except Bangkok, which has commissioners."

Wonder how much it will cost to encourage an NACC member to look the other way.

[belg]

steal till there is nothing left but debts

hey, that is about right for the 2.2 trillion baht loan

[britinthai]

Join the club. Perhaps, after a long and costly series of exercises (maybe a few trips here and there in the region and the world), a few minor officials will be put on trial, and lots of reports will be written, but not much will change. In reality I do not believe that Thailand is any more or less corrupt than any other country. It is just in the west that the corruption is better hidden and overlooked. Good luck guys, and remember to duck just in case you do accidentally uncover real corruption of any truly important.

For Thailand to be more corrupt than other nations, would mean that the human's here are less likely to be opportunists. It is simply not the case and I agree with Ianatlarge.

Corruption in Australia is better hidden. For lower end officials, it has become more difficult, but at the top end it is business as usual for a country run by lawyers. Lets not define lawyers further.

Every now and then a tip of the iceberg gets exposed. There is a satisfactory hue and cry in the media and the iceberg floats on quietly. More quietly than before. People learn from example, how to communicate secretly more effectively. How "not" to reveal intentions in emails and sms and on pillow talk.

These anti corruption commissioners, should each be equipped with at least two forensic accountants that can trace the money trails effectively and they should then be bound by some sort of results clause, evaluated yearly.

Having worked in a lot of different countries, I can say Thailand is no different than most. Let's look at the UK where most of the MPs were scamming expenses. The Thai government does take care of their people all be it not like other western countries where they seem to take care of others before their own - Thai people has always had to take care of themselves and will always consider if I can take it and get away with it then I will.

[ronthai]

Great, another pet project created to grease somebodies palms.

Just wonder how much grease it takes to be choose for one of the well "paid (as in opportunity to grease my palms)" anti-grease jobs