The latest corruption index shows that Thailand has shown no improvement in its international anti-graft score even though the country has been ruled for more than six years by a strong government while its military-sponsored constitution is designed with a goal of eradicating corruption.
Transparency International (TI) last week gave Thailand a score of 36 out of 100 for the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2020, equal to its score in 2019 and 2018. Despite the score not having changed, the country's ranking fell to 104th out of 180 countries and economies, from 101st in 2019.
Denmark and New Zealand ranked 1st with a score of 88. In Asean, Singapore ranked 1st with a score of 85, followed by Brunei (60), Malaysia (51) and Indonesia (37). Vietnam shares the same score with Thailand while the Philippines received 34, Laos 29, Myanmar 28 and Cambodia 21. Thailand's CPI score increased from 35 in 2013 to 38 in 2014, the year Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha staged a coup. In 2015, it still maintained its 38-point score. Since that time, the country has not been able to make it to that level again as the score has fallen.
In 2017, the 20th constitution was promulgated. This constitution, written by a coup-installed panel, was billed as "the charter of corruption suppression and eradication" with several anti-graft rules and mechanisms in place. Thailand's CPI score in 2016 was recorded at 35 and increased slightly to 37 in 2017. After that it dropped to 36 in 2018 and has not improved since.
To be clear, the CPI is not a measurement of actual corruption. The index lists countries as they are seen and scored by citizens and outsiders. A country seen as corrupt by public consensus probably does have corruption, and that seems to be the case with regard to Thailand.
For 2020, TI made several mentions of Thailand in its global survey. It says state institutions, including the government, courts and the police fare worst for citizens' trust. As many as 71% of respondents indicated they had little or no trust in government, 59% said they had little or no trust in the police, and 40% had little or no trust in the courts.
When it comes to the police, 37% of respondents also think most if not all members of the police are corrupt, the highest among Asean countries surveyed, and 47% admitted they had paid bribes to the police in the past 12 months. Most (65%) think their anti-corruption agency is doing badly in the fight against corruption.
Often one root cause of political corruption is election abuse, including fraudulent, undeclared funding of parties and vote-buying. Unfortunately, the TI's survey found vote-buying is highest in Thailand and the Philippines, where 28% of citizens are offered a bribe in return for their vote.
Although the CPI reflects only public perception, the ranking is no exaggeration where Thailand is concerned. The new coronavirus outbreak that was linked to migrant worker smuggling and gambling dens is proof of rampant corruption in state agencies. It comes as no surprise that the TI survey shows such a paucity of trust in the government. A national leader must be a role model for fighting corruption and promoting transparency. In Thailand, however, politicians involved in various scandals have managed to secure seats in cabinet.
Every December, the prime minister leads government officials and notables from the private sector to declare their intention to suppress corruption to mark International Anti-Corruption Day. The move is still just a symbolic event; it has yet to be put into practice.