If you want to fight graft, don't offer the bribe

A worldwide survey by Transparency International, an organisation that campaigns against corruption, has revealed some dismal and disappointing facts about attitudes towards this scourge. The survey, entitled “Global Corruption Barometer 2013”, was conducted among 114,000 people in 107 countries. The Berlin-based watchdog bills it as the world’s largest public-opinion survey on the subject.

The results average out to more than one person in two thinking corruption has worsened over the last two years, and more than one in four reported having paid a bribe in the last 12 months when interacting with officials from key public institutions and services. Also, more than one in two people think their government is largely or entirely run by groups acting in their own interests rather than for the benefit of citizens.

“It is the actors that are supposed to be running countries and upholding the rule of law that are seen as the most corrupt, judged to be abusing their positions of power and acting in their own interests rather than for the citizens they are there to represent and serve,” Transparency International concludes.

Thailand is among the majority of countries whose respondents said they think corruption has increased locally, according to the survey results released on Tuesday.

The Kingdom is among 51 countries that identify political parties as the most corrupt institutions, and among 36 countries that identify the police as the most corrupt institution. However, 18 per cent of some 1,000 respondents in Thailand also admitted to having paid bribes in the past year.

Regarding perceptions on corruption, Thai respondents gave political parties and the police a score of 4 on a scale of 1 designating not at all corrupt, and 5 designating extremely corrupt. Thai public officials and civil servants got a score of 3.7, while the Parliament and legislature scored 3.4.

These findings simply confirm most people’s existing beliefs about corruption in this country. While many denounce graft as a social evil or a cancer, an equal number support it by bribing officials when they feel it is helpful or “necessary”.

However, the survey also offers some hope. Most respondents in this global survey said they believed they could help fight corruption by taking action against it. Nearly 9 out of 10 people surveyed said they would act against corruption, and two-thirds of those who had been asked to pay a bribe had refused.

Thailand is in a group of countries in which 61 to 80 per cent of respondents agree to the statement that, “Ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.” As many as 92 per cent of Thai respondents (compared to a global average of 87) indicate a willingness to get involved in anti-corruption activities such as signing a petition, joining a protest or campaigning through the social media.

Many people agree there is a desperate need to fight corruption in our country. But it is doubtful this battle can be won without the cooperation of those who offer bribes, and of the corrupt politicians and law enforcers – who are in great numbers in this country – who take them.

We are witnessing ever-increasing dissatisfaction with corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and officials. People have taken to the streets, taken legal action and campaigned through the social media against graft in Thailand. But that is not enough as long as there are still so many people who prefer to bribe their way ahead of others. 

We, as ordinary citizens, can contribute to the fight against corruption by stopping the practice of giving bribes.