The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) must reconsider its plan to raise the gift allowance for cabinet ministers and senior officers which is currently capped at 3,000 baht.
The proposal was revealed this week by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-Ngam who claimed that the current 3,000-baht limit has been in place since 1999 and is no longer realistic. He tried to justify an increase by saying it is needed to reflect inflation and changes in the costs of living.
He stopped short of revealing the new amount, only saying that it would be up to the anti-graft body to come up with a formula for raising the cap.
Mr Wissanu's statement was seen as an attempt to find a way out for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who bought Bang Kaew puppies as New Year's gifts to two cabinet ministers, namely Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda and Deputy Prime Minister Chatchai Sarikulya, during a mobile cabinet trip to Phitsanulok on Dec 25.
The Prime Minister purchased three puppies, including one for himself. The total price of the three puppies was 25,000 baht (8,333 baht apiece) though the market price was 6,000 baht for each puppy.
The purchase prompted an anti-graft activist to file a complaint with the NACC as the price of each puppy exceeded the cap put in place by Section 103 of the Prevention and Suppression of Corruption Act, which prohibits political office-holders from receiving gifts with a value of more than 3,000 baht.
The NACC responded to the case by saying the law only focuses on the receiver when it comes to wrongdoing of this nature. Suthee Boonmee, an NACC director, said the NACC would investigate whether Gen Anupong and Gen Chatchai had informed the agency of the gifts, and whether the dogs are now at their respective homes.
Gen Anupong was quick to reject the puppy from the prime minister. The interior minister told the media he was well-aware of the price tag that would put him in trouble.
While Gen Prayut is lucky that few people appear to have issues with his gift puppies -- in stark contrast to the heavy criticism Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon received over a scandal involving his collection of pricey watches -- he is, nevertheless, still obliged to abide by the law and meet public expectation as a good and moral leader.
In fact, the NACC's attempt to revise the law at this time is unfortunate. It merely gives the impression that double standards exist, with the agency appearing to be acting to protect the powers-that-be by not straightforwardly enforcing the law.
Apart from demanding the NACC fulfil its duty to investigate Gen Prayut's gifts, Mr Srisuwan also urged the NACC to take the far more extreme step of banning cabinet ministers and state officials from receiving gifts of any kind at all.
The activist said such a move would represent a significant step in the fight against graft, as even a 3,000-baht gift may be sufficient to curry favour or nuture a patron-client relationship, and therefore lead to corrupt practices.
It should be noted that some state agencies have already adopted a "no-gift" policy this year.
Among them are the ministries of Finance, Public Health as well as the Interior.
For instance, Somchai Sujjapongse, permanent secretary for finance, ordered officials not to give gifts to their supervisors at any level. Under his instruction, ministry officials were to exchange greeting cards, sign well-wishing books or make use of online channels to share happiness.
Mr Somchai also made it clear that the no-gift policy applied to family members of senior officials too.
Chatchai Promlert, permanent secretary for Interior, issued a directive prohibiting his subordinates from accepting gift baskets or presents. Only greeting cards were allowed.
At the Public Health Ministry, Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn not only ordered his subordinates to refrain from giving gifts or souvenirs to supervisors, but also to adhere to "rightful" values that cherish modest living.
The "no-gift" policy has become an international trend. That several countries in Asia, including regional giants like China and an economically tiny neighbour like Laos, have implemented this policy reflect a serious pan-Asian effort to tackle corruption.
They have also banned officials from attending lavish parties. For China, it's a part of the anti-corruption campaign launched by their strongman leader Xi Jinping.
Mr Srisuwan is right. If a change is to be made to the gift directive, it must be to make the amount zero. The anti-graft agency must send an unequivocally clear message that it is serious about winning Thailand's fight against corruption.