Graft busters need to bring down the big fish, not minnows
Play
I praise PM Prayut for placing the fight against corruption on the national agenda, and for repeatedly noting that he's accountable for his government's actions. Corruption permeates every corner of our society, and we must be cleansed of this plague.
But PM Prayut is focusing on what’s easy – not what’s important – in going after the 727 Nakhon Ratchasima teachers implicated by the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission in the futsal pitch scandal. The small fry who signed off on a given pitch will be easily replaced by the masterminds, and corruption will go on as usual.
Once again, we will have proved that “written laws (are) like spiders’ webs, and would catch...the weak and poor, but easily be broken by the mighty and rich” (Anacharsis).The fish rots from the head. Going after the big fish will send a clear signal that there’s a new sheriff in town, and everyone will have to clean up his act, from the head shark on down.
So, find out who justified the need for each school to receive a pitch, lobbied the Basic Education Commission for the B689 million for the pitches, justified the terms of reference, vetted the contractors, etc. They are the movers and shakers of this rotten project, and must be brought to justice quickly.
After five months of absolute power, Prayut’s not even charged a single shark. This is his big chance, for the evidence of corruption is clear. He should focus on the sharks behind the scheme, not a school of minnows.
Burin Kantabutra
Bangkok
