What anti-graft pioneers Singapore and Hong Kong have to teach us
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Re: "Fighting corruption: Why Hong Kong was successful", Letters, April 6.
Letter-writer “Anti-graft” did us a favour in sharing his/her insights on Hong Kong. We now can guess why China failed despite mandating a death sentence for those guilty of serious corruption.
In Hong Kong between 1971 and 1982, Governor Sir Murray MacLehose oversaw what initially seemed the impossible task of fighting corruption among officialdom. He brought in ex-police investigators from Britain to lay down strong anti-graft foundations that remain in place today. In Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew’s bone-deep contempt for corrupt practices drove his 31-year campaign to make the country cleaner than clean.
How about our chances under General Prayut Chan-o-cha? I would not dare to guess. But if he employs the same outside-the-box thinking as Sir Murray and LKY, Thailand has a good chance of following Singapore and Hong Kong in going from a notoriously corrupt to a relatively “clean” country. I don’t pay much attention to current efforts, such as the naming of 100 corrupt officials or daily reports on the great work of anti-graft officials. These are only for show and do little to change the mindset of those who matter.
Songdej Praditsmanont
