Thailand has long been plagued by nepotism — the behaviour and practice of those in power and influence of favouring relatives and friends by giving them jobs. Nepotism has close links to patronage and cronyism and can easily lead to corruption.
This kind of behaviour has afflicted this country for decades. It has been the topic of repeated calls for reform. Many governments, past and present, have pledged to tackle such misconduct. But it is clear that even with a regime change, nothing has changed and we still have a long, long way to go before good governance, transparency and meritocracy is embedded in the DNA of those who wield state power.
A recent investigation by the Isra News Agency revealed that many members of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), including military officers, have put direct family members — wives and children — on the payroll. They serve as personal assistants (15,000 baht per month, personal experts (20,000 baht per month) and personal specialists (24,000 baht per month).
Some NLA members have hired the same person two or three times — once for each position, and drawing salaries for all. One NLA member hired his wife three times. This practice and behaviour by members of the NLA is not just a cause for concern. It is scandalous and downright disgusting.
What is equally worrying is the response of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who defended the legal right of NLA members to employ family members because it did not breach the interim charter. He also rejected comparisons between the NLA and previous parliaments saying that conditions are different. The response by Pondej Pinprateep, who chairs the National Reform Council's committee on reform on ethics, morality and good governance, which just proposed a bill to set up a national ethics assembly, is equally disappointing.
He noted that the practice of nepotism by many members of the NLA members was not against the law but a mistake for not considering the suitability of the appointments. People appointed to such positions should be capable, he said.
Indeed, politicians have long been criticised for practising nepotism, and rightly so. We are all too familiar with how elected ministers appoint totally unqualified people to crucial positions on the boards of state enterprises and government agencies so as to protect their interests and to maximise benefits. But the prime minister's comments — plus the argument that the practice of nepotism by politicians is far worse and more rampant — simply do not hold water. It does not matter whether the interim charter prohibits this practice or not. It is irrelevant whether there should be a law against this practice or not.
What matters is that those individuals who wield state power, whether they are elected representatives, senators — appointed or otherwise — government officials in any state agency must do what is right. They need to realise that nepotism, patronage and cronyism lead to corruption. They need to realise that the public sees through the legal arguments and the flippant responses to the practice by many members of the NLA show a severe lack of good governance and amount to pure hypocrisy.
