Standards keepers must step up

The public uproar over two high-profile figures – one a former police chief and the other a construction mogul – are both welcome and disturbing. Pol General Somyot Poompanmuang has drawn heavy criticism over his admission about financial and personal association with a questionable businessman, while Premchai Karnasuta has received a vociferous social-media bashing over alleged “illegal hunting” activities. Both cases, and reactions to them, appear to tell a lot about the Thai society.
Somyot and Premchai have been heavily criticised for their activities and alleged activities. While the criticism has been prevalent and strong in the social media, it makes one wonder why abuses or alleged abuse of privileges have been rampant in Thailand. In other words, if the country’s moral and ethical standards have been as good as they have been portrayed in LINE messages, Facebook postings and web board comments, cases of below-par ethics or morality should have been far fewer than they actually are.
The truth is that Somyot and Premchai are not exceptions. The former was absolutely not the first police chief to have other businesses or to be very rich. Premchai, meanwhile, is facing accusations that are common where highly affluent people in the country are concerned, namely getting law-enforcement officers to bend the rules for them.
Worse still, cases of abuse of privileges in Thailand have been much politicised. This means similar cases can be treated differently, depending on who breaks the law. 
Some people may lash out at a Cabinet member for showing off luxurious wristwatches while completely turn a blind eye to the conspicuous wealth of other politicians. This damaging double-standard is one of the biggest prices exacted by the country’s political divide. Politicians or key figures on both sides of the political polarity have been guilty of abusing privileges, of nepotism, and of distorting the justice system. 
The social double-standard has allowed many wrongdoers to get away with what they have done by simply proclaiming a “conspiracy”. That Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is defending his deputy Prawit Wongsuwan over the luxury-watch controversy by citing elements bent on undermining the credibility of his government is deplorable; he has done exactly the same thing as all democratically elected leaders.
Criticising certain people for lacking moral or ethical principles is easy. Criticising all on a consistent basis for such offences is not. That is why the cases of Somyot and Premchai are not the first and will not be the last.
Many are calling on Prayut to set good standards. Whether he is innocent or guilty, Prawit has undermined trust in his government and the government and society are better off without him in the Cabinet. Yet Prayut and Prawit are ignoring the fact that Thailand is in need of “standards setters” if genuine reform should take a serious hold here, and holding onto the false belief that resignation or suspension is an admission of guilt.
The bad news is that Prayut and Prawit are not exceptions, either. Which means we can give up hopes of having enough “standards setters” in order to effect positive changes. This leaves us with the other group, which is making a lot of noise at the moment despite itself being considerably flawed. Simply put, with “standards setters” rare in this country, real reforms are unlikely to take place unless the “standards keepers” are steadfast, consistent and drop politics whenever the line is crossed. After all, the latter appear to be Thailand’s only hope.