Regional study ranks Thailand 10th most corrupt in Asia
By Ismail Wolff
A regional survey naming Thailand as the only country in Asia where corruption has worsened over the past year does not come as a surprise, anti-corruption advocates said yesterday.
The annual survey by Hong Kong-based think-tank Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) noted in its report high-level corruption cases in Thailand, including the recent sale of a Shin Corp stake by the family of Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The controversial sale has galvanized the former telecom tycoon’s detractors into action.
“Thailand’s case is special. Accusations of high-level corruption have been intensifying in recent months – to the point where they could affect political stability,” the PERC survey said. Thailand was ranked 10th out of the 13 countries surveyed, and scored 7.64 out of 10, with 10 being the worst.
Tortrakul Yomnak, a co-founder of corruptionwatch.net and chair of the Working Committee to Study Corruption and Good Governance at the National Economic and Social Advisory Council, said the government has shown over the years that it has no intention of dealing with the problem of corruption.
“The Thaksin administration is not serious about tackling corruption. Even though the prime minister’s claims that he has no intention to and has never taken any money from anyone may be true, he supports every minister and every government official [who] is involved in corruption,” Tortrakul said in an interview from the Sanam Luang protests last night.
Thaksin’s promises to tackle corruption within the government and replace corrupt ministers with trustworthy ones have never been realized, Tortrakul said.
Thaksin has announced recently that tackling corruption was among the top agenda of the government, but the Thaksin administration and many of its top ministers as well as the prime minister’s family have been plagued with widespread allegations of corruption. Staunch anti-government critic Sondhi Limthongkul, who last year initiated a mass movement to oust the prime minister, has consistently highlighted cases of alleged corruption in the government.
However, critics say the government has failed to address the allegations and has consistently worked to undermine a number of institutions, such as the National Counter Corruption Commission.
“Corruption [cases] over recent years [have] definitely increased and that is very clear through widespread allegations [about] the new Suvarnabhumi Airport and other major projects,” Veera Somkwamkit, an anti-corruption activist and co-founder of corruptionwatch.net said yesterday. “The corruptionwatch website was such a threat that the government worked to close it down, but it has now reopened under the address of thaicorruptionwatch.net.”
Tortrakul also noted the high-profile case of Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka, who was kept from holding office as auditor general for nearly 18 months, is an indication of the Thaksin administration’s lack of resolve to deal with corruption.
“Khunying Jaruvan knows many cases that could push the prime minister out of office,” Tortrakul said. “And she has said publicly that her knowledge of the prime minister’s wife’s buying of government land, although unintentionally, is the reason she was being forced out,” Tortrakul said.
“People are aware...of all these corruption allegations, but it seems the government continues to be able to work to avoid them.”
By Ismail Wolff
A regional survey naming Thailand as the only country in Asia where corruption has worsened over the past year does not come as a surprise, anti-corruption advocates said yesterday.
The annual survey by Hong Kong-based think-tank Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) noted in its report high-level corruption cases in Thailand, including the recent sale of a Shin Corp stake by the family of Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The controversial sale has galvanized the former telecom tycoon’s detractors into action.
“Thailand’s case is special. Accusations of high-level corruption have been intensifying in recent months – to the point where they could affect political stability,” the PERC survey said. Thailand was ranked 10th out of the 13 countries surveyed, and scored 7.64 out of 10, with 10 being the worst.
Tortrakul Yomnak, a co-founder of corruptionwatch.net and chair of the Working Committee to Study Corruption and Good Governance at the National Economic and Social Advisory Council, said the government has shown over the years that it has no intention of dealing with the problem of corruption.
“The Thaksin administration is not serious about tackling corruption. Even though the prime minister’s claims that he has no intention to and has never taken any money from anyone may be true, he supports every minister and every government official [who] is involved in corruption,” Tortrakul said in an interview from the Sanam Luang protests last night.
Thaksin’s promises to tackle corruption within the government and replace corrupt ministers with trustworthy ones have never been realized, Tortrakul said.
Thaksin has announced recently that tackling corruption was among the top agenda of the government, but the Thaksin administration and many of its top ministers as well as the prime minister’s family have been plagued with widespread allegations of corruption. Staunch anti-government critic Sondhi Limthongkul, who last year initiated a mass movement to oust the prime minister, has consistently highlighted cases of alleged corruption in the government.
However, critics say the government has failed to address the allegations and has consistently worked to undermine a number of institutions, such as the National Counter Corruption Commission.
“Corruption [cases] over recent years [have] definitely increased and that is very clear through widespread allegations [about] the new Suvarnabhumi Airport and other major projects,” Veera Somkwamkit, an anti-corruption activist and co-founder of corruptionwatch.net said yesterday. “The corruptionwatch website was such a threat that the government worked to close it down, but it has now reopened under the address of thaicorruptionwatch.net.”
Tortrakul also noted the high-profile case of Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka, who was kept from holding office as auditor general for nearly 18 months, is an indication of the Thaksin administration’s lack of resolve to deal with corruption.
“Khunying Jaruvan knows many cases that could push the prime minister out of office,” Tortrakul said. “And she has said publicly that her knowledge of the prime minister’s wife’s buying of government land, although unintentionally, is the reason she was being forced out,” Tortrakul said.
“People are aware...of all these corruption allegations, but it seems the government continues to be able to work to avoid them.”
