Anti-corruption movement gains momentum
Ninety per cent of key businesspeople still rate the level of corruption in Thailand as high or very high, amid growing optimism that it could be eradicated a year and a half after the May 2014 coup, according to a study by the Private Sector Collective A
In the survey covering 828 directors and business leaders from August to December 2015, 48 per cent saw a continuous decline in the severity of the corruption problem in Thailand over the past two years, while 24 per cent viewed the problem as being more severe.
Forty-four per cent had either high or very high confidence that corruption could be eradicated in the future, up from 35 per cent in the previous poll conducted in 2013.
Meanwhile, only 12 per cent estimated that corruption drove operating costs more than 20 per cent higher, down sharply from 52 per cent of respondents in 2013, indicating continuous improvement in anti-corruption efforts over the past two years.
"This study indicated that we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in fixing the corruption problem," said Bandid Nijathaworn, president and chief executive of the Thai Institute of Directors and secretary-general of the CAC.
"Despite some progress, corruption remains a major problem that 90 per cent still rate high or very high. It is necessary for the private sector to establish a more solid and powerful anti-corruption network to tackle the problem.
"On the bright side, more businessmen are acknowledging that the problem needs to be solved and are willing to lend their hands in resolving the corruption issue. Therefore, we all need to push the anti-corruption campaign forward at a firm and continuous pace."
Among anti-corruption strategies that business leaders rated as highly effective were law enforcement at the macro level (32 per cent) and the announcement of a list of suspected corrupt civil servants (11 per cent).
Among anti-corruption actions that business leaders and directors wanted to see most from the government were stringent law enforcement and punishment of both bribe takers and payers (25 per cent), corruption probes of politicians and civil servants (16 per cent), establishment of public consciousness against corruption to make it unacceptable behaviour (9 per cent), and provision of support to business/civil society networks in monitoring and reporting corruption (8 per cent). What they would like to see most from the private sector were the setting up of corporate anti-corruption policies (35 per cent), collaboration of various sectors in determining anti-corruption directions (19 per cent), and the establishment of accountable management/operating systems (13 per cent). The study also indicated a higher level of awareness by business leaders regarding their roles in anti-corruption efforts. Some 85 per cent of respondents agreed that the private sector had either active or very active roles in tackling corruption, up from 72 per cent in the 2013 poll, while 65 per cent said they had firm intentions to cooperate in anti-corruption campaigns and 33 per cent said they were ready to cooperate should there be any workable plan.
The most common form of corruption perceived by business leaders were favouritism by political office holders (18 per cent), gifts and bribes (16 per cent), and corruption by politicians (15 per cent). Government processes that are most vulnerable to corruption were public procurement and tendering of state projects (28 per cent) and registration and licensing (18 per cent).
Sectors that tended to be involved with corruption were property (13 per cent), utilities (12 per cent), energy (12 per cent), construction (11 per cent), and telecommunications (10 per cent).
