TELL IT AS IT IS
The fault of ML Panadda
Pornpimol Kanchanalak
Special to The Nation

Harry Truman, one of America's most underrated presidents, had a reputation for hell-raising rhetoric:
"I don't give them hell," he countered. "I just tell the truth about them and they think it's hell."

BANGKOK: -- Precisely the same could be said of ML Panadda Disakul, permanent secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, who used Facebook to publicise the obscenely opulent lifestyles of certain elected provincial officials. And did he give them hell!

His posts caused immediate "outrage" among the chief executives of the Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO). A group of them stood together in solidarity, all clad in black (whatever that signified), holding up sign that read "NO to Panadda". They asked him to name names - an act that could land him in deep trouble thanks to defamation laws.

In response, Panadda offered his apologies for any offence caused. He had no axe to grind, he said. He was just trying to do his job and duty for the country. In his view, government officials, whether elected or appointed, should adhere to the highest moral standards and code of conduct when it comes to spending the taxpayer's money.

Did we hear that right? Somebody is actually talking about civil responsibility and a code of conduct? How long has it been since someone in the public sector mentioned moral standards and accountability?

What a breath of fresh air.

As to the conduct of certain chief executives and chief administrators - be they at the Provincial Administrative Organisation or the Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (SAO) levels - the bar could not be set any lower.

If you want to do business on anything from waste disposal to energy within a subdistrict or provincial jurisdiction, you have to kow-tow to them. And the obeisance goes well beyond the realm of being respectful and courteous. "Grease" for the deal will be demanded and it must be delivered over and over. You may have to buy land owned by the chiefs or their relatives or deputies. You may have to pay a "commission" in proportion to the watts of electricity you are expecting to produce.

In one province, a Royal Household office gave one subdistrict funding for river dredging to prevent repeated annual floods. The chief executives and chief administrators took possession of the funds and did nothing. Until the day of the inspection, that is. A few days before the scheduled review, trucks dumped tonnes of dirt on the riverbanks, giving the impression it came from the bottom of the river. Case closed.

One subdistrict chief executive boasted about building his own Bt300 million resort without having to borrow a single baht from the bank.

His resort is steadily expanding beyond the horizon. Another Bt300 million or more may be poured into this project, the source of enormous pride and joy. And poor taxpayers like us are left with the impression that we must have done something terribly wrong with our money.

These are just two of the pathetic examples of excesses in corruption and wrongdoing on the part of elected government officials.

Undeniably, there are a good number of scrupulous and honourable chief executives and administrators at the PAO and SAO. But one bad apple spoils the whole barrel.

Political decentralisation is a prerequisite of genuine democracy. In Thailand, it started off in earnest with the constitution drafted by Anand Panyarachun and his committee. However, as the old adage goes - the way to hell is paved with good intentions: our decentralisation has gone badly astray.

First, it was monetised to the point of no return. The buying and selling of votes became a normal way of life.

Second, elected provincial and sub district officials' new-found political empowerment was matched only by their egotism and hubris. The check-and-balance mechanisms either are not there, or have been rendered toothless. The "catch-me-if-you-can" attitude is not even relevant anymore. To many of them, fear of being caught has gone.

Third, local people - the voters - do not have any means to oppose what they perceive as daylight robbery. The people they voted for shrug off the complaints with an attitude of "it's my way or the highway". Shakespeare was brave enough to ask whether it was nobler to suffer injustices lying down, or to stand up against it, and by "and by opposing end them". Voters in Thai constituencies do not have that luxury, for many reasons.

So, it is time that we stopped ignoring the ugly picture of decentralisation and began dealing with the problems. Geoffrey Chaucer had an answer in "Canterbury Tales": we must throw away the one rotten apple before it spoils the entire bushel.

As for Panadda, our society has a duty to preserve, protect and support him. He has shown the courage to do the right thing. We must not let him down, unless we want to allow more room for scoundrels and none for the good and upright. The latter scenario would leave our society with no hope for real reform - or even hope in general.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/The-fault-of-ML-Panadda-30241941.html


-- The Nation 2014-08-28

TAT can use it as an example for "Thainess"-should double the numbers ...

Any official that tries to do the right thing here,

is quickly brought back to reality,you cannot

name the culprits for fear of been sued,which

is not right,the law is supposed to bring justice,

not protect law breakers.

regards Worgeordie

I am sure ML Pannada's is correct, barring some slight exaggeration.

But what is missing is his account of what he has done and is planning to do to clean up the Interior Ministry where he is permanent secretary and currently acting ministry. The Interior Ministry is well known as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt ministries, and, as such, has always been regarding as the top prize by haggling political mafiosi. The Land Department alone handles zillions of baht in cash every day as tax payments for land transfers. Why has ML Pannada never suggested this should be done by cheque or bank transfer? A few moments negotiation with a land official can reduce your payment (and the state's revenue) significantly. That is before we start looking at provincial administration and how much governors downward have to pay for their jobs.

His thrust is clearly that elected provincial officials are bad and that decentralisation of provincial administration and more elected officials, including provincial governors would be bad. But that is not born out by any statistics indicating efficiency of the centralised unrepresentative system. Please reform the whole thing, particularly the Interior Ministry.

Any official that tries to do the right thing here,

is quickly brought back to reality,you cannot

name the culprits for fear of been sued,which

is not right,the law is supposed to bring justice,

not protect law breakers.

regards Worgeordie

Had he taken his time.....done some research, gathered evidence, then he would have been able to make the accusations without fear of defamation.

Didn't the writer of this Op-Ed face corruption charges in the US?

Any official that tries to do the right thing here,

is quickly brought back to reality,you cannot

name the culprits for fear of been sued,which

is not right,the law is supposed to bring justice,

not protect law breakers.

regards Worgeordie

Had he taken his time.....done some research, gathered evidence, then he would have been able to make the accusations without fear of defamation.

I thought you could be sued regardless of whether what you said was true or not.

Kow Towing must be done at all levels and not just at this level. For Thai people to get ahead at all, one must bribe their way. It's a shame. I've heard of teachers paying 200,000 baht to get a good teaching assignment. Of course they don't make enough money to have that in the bank so must take from the family or borrow.

Ok lets see what the powers do about this. Many soft targets have been tackled to create the impression of change. Go after these corrupt officials and put them in jail and I will change my view of the "government".

Whenever foreign countries advise thailand to learn to accept rule of law, apply the laws equally, accept the results of elections, do something about crime and money laundering, there's never ending complaints from officials and the media about foreigners trying to westernize Thailand, that outsiders don't understand Thai "values" and public animosity directed toward Western nations.

Later when why the levels of corruption within government has not changed, with public money still being wasted, they are dumbfounded wondering why this is still happening.

Perhaps they are trying to prove the definition of stupidity.

deleted post

Edited August 28, 201411 yr by Time Traveller

Any official that tries to do the right thing here,

is quickly brought back to reality,you cannot

name the culprits for fear of been sued,which

is not right,the law is supposed to bring justice,

not protect law breakers.

regards Worgeordie

Had he taken his time.....done some research, gathered evidence, then he would have been able to make the accusations without fear of defamation.

I thought you could be sued regardless of whether what you said was true or not.

You can

Still comes down to why ML Panadda not refer the corruption of this man to the NACC if he has the fortitude to mention to the media. Made this an example for all to see. Or he just full of hot air and made accusations without amble investigation and only based on hearsay, just like the load of accusation hurl at the rice scheme. He is a comic.

I am sure ML Pannada's is correct, barring some slight exaggeration.

But what is missing is his account of what he has done and is planning to do to clean up the Interior Ministry where he is permanent secretary and currently acting ministry. The Interior Ministry is well known as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt ministries, and, as such, has always been regarding as the top prize by haggling political mafiosi. The Land Department alone handles zillions of baht in cash every day as tax payments for land transfers. Why has ML Pannada never suggested this should be done by cheque or bank transfer? A few moments negotiation with a land official can reduce your payment (and the state's revenue) significantly. That is before we start looking at provincial administration and how much governors downward have to pay for their jobs.

His thrust is clearly that elected provincial officials are bad and that decentralisation of provincial administration and more elected officials, including provincial governors would be bad. But that is not born out by any statistics indicating efficiency of the centralised unrepresentative system. Please reform the whole thing, particularly the Interior Ministry.

Well it sounds nice but

But what is missing is his account of what he has done and is planning to do to clean up the Interior Ministry

I am not a believer in the custom of announcing ahead of time what they are going to do to catch crooks. Play your cards close to your chest and give them no warning. Also I don't believe in transferring them to inactive posts.

Hang em high and make examples for those who still think Thaksin has their back.

Any official that tries to do the right thing here,

is quickly brought back to reality,you cannot

name the culprits for fear of been sued,which

is not right,the law is supposed to bring justice,

not protect law breakers.

regards Worgeordie

Had he taken his time.....done some research, gathered evidence, then he would have been able to make the accusations without fear of defamation.

Sadly not so under Thai Law.