As Thailand’s fate is being determined by a military intervention in politics that will either be a necessary detour or a dangerous descent from democratic rule, the performance and track record of the self-empowered military authorities are critical for any semblance of political legitimacy.
Runners sport anti-corruption banners at a marathon event under the theme ‘Run Against Corruption’. THITI WANNAMONTHA
The top generals under the National Council for Peace and Order have made anti-corruption the centrepiece of their rule. Indeed, corruption and graft are entrenched and pervasive, even structural and cultural, endemically undermining the fabric of Thai democracy. To succeed in its anti-corruption drive, the NCPO must ensure that its efforts are comprehensive and non-discriminatory, lasting and self-sustaining, and honest.
Above all, any effective anti-corruption crusade must be bottom-up, with the Thai people as the ultimate owners and stakeholders of a cleaner Thailand.
Since the military takeover on May 22, the military authorities’ anti-corruption efforts have been dramatic and palpable. Headline news has been filled with corruption stories on a daily basis, from crackdowns on illegal casinos right in the heart of Bangkok and illegal logging in Nan province to the taxi mafia on Phuket island. It seems corruption and graft lurk in shadowy corners all over the country across industries, bureaucratic agencies, and provinces.
Corruption is parasitic. It is underpinned by leeching crooks who exploit rent from state assets and resources for private gain at the public's expense. These rent-seekers comprise unscrupulous officials and individuals engaged in unsavoury activities.
For example, even parking on a public street in Thailand can incur a fee from local mafias. The massage parlours and underground lottery are blatant black markets. Bureaucrats skim from public purse strings by inflating procurement prices and demanding commissions, otherwise known as tea money. Foreign mafiosos thrive in Thailand’s underground businesses from racketeering, human trafficking and money laundering. The police force is in on much of it.
Politicians take up the lion’s share because they end up controlling the national budget, which is Thailand’s biggest pool of corruptible funds. In the past, state concessions and expenditures could be siphoned like a buffet line where government ministers, bureaucrats and businessmen could pick and choose their procurement projects and spending orders.
More recently, corruption among politicians can be likened to set menus. Some provincial barons and political bosses have simply ruled and milked certain ministries, such as sports, tourism and agriculture. Others lorded over the choice portfolios, such as transport, ICT, commerce, industry, and education. Corruption is the most lucrative industry for power holders.
First and foremost, tackling corruption has to be done across the board in a non-discriminatory fashion. So far, the corruption revelations have been wide and diverse. But the authorities have to ensure the anti-corruption drive is also comprehensive and not selective.
How corruption investigations are identified and to what ends must be made transparent to the public. It is a huge and possibly endless job but fighting corruption can be successful through incremental but steady progress. If anti-corruption efforts become discriminatory and beset with favouritism, vested interests will set in and the whole campaign will lose legitimacy and reek of hypocrisy.
The second challenge is the hardest. It is how to make these corruption-busting efforts stick for the long term, outlasting the NCPO. Perhaps the authorities can create a "name and shame" list of proven wrongdoers. And the NCPO should issue similar summonses to mafia bosses and black market heavyweights just like it did with politicians and academics, detaining them for days to adjust their thinking and attitude.
The military authorities should come down very hard in draconian ways on these thugs and crooks. They can also think out of the box. As corruption is so rampant, perhaps it is worthwhile at least in the initial stage to offer cash rewards for information leading to the breakup and apprehension of corruption rackets. It can even be a small percentage of the financial transactions involved.
Third, the risk of one corrupt clique replacing another must be avoided. The people wiping out corruption must not themselves become corrupt. Here the NCPO chiefs need to set clear guidelines and examples to follow. They can make their finances transparent. They can publicly caution their relatives and friends not to approach them for favours or benefits. They should punish straying subordinates for demonstration effects. Good and honest leadership is indispensable for good governance. If the top echelons stand straight and firm in this mission, the rest will be compelled to fall in line.
Finally, the Thai people need to take on a central and decisive role in fighting corruption. Anti-corruption requires more socialisation. Examples and convicted cases of corruption schemes should be publicised and deplored through the media. More awareness campaigns must be launched. The Thai people need to take corruption more seriously and abandon nonchalant attitudes towards bribery.
This means a willingness to loosen traditional patron-client ties and networks. Cohorts and classmates who go to the same schools, funerals, weddings, restaurants, mountains, beaches, foreign holiday locales, and so forth should not take it for granted that these cosy relationships can form the basis for favours and deals. Social structures, institutions and norms comprise the unintended root cause of corruption in Thailand.
Fighting corruption ultimately requires a shake-up of Thailand’s cultural and structural foundations of relationships and networks. It requires the adjustment of Thai mindsets and attitudes. Such a transformation is not easy for a patronage-driven Asian society but it can be done over the long term.
As can be seen in countries that have made impressive strides in fighting corruption, such as South Korea and Taiwan, the inverse correlation between corruption and democracy is clear and established. Reducing and eliminating corruption can only be good for the nature, direction and content of Thailand’s future democracy.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak is associate professor and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.