We’ve all seen such public grandstanding in taking vows to end corruption before, but this one came with a twist. The nationwide broadcast on radio and TV was timed to perfection, from 9-11am, when PM Prayut knew that officials had to be in the office for their weekly meeting.
He also ordered the broadcast to be played at every provincial hall across the country, with every government agency ordered to have officers attend. This part wasn’t for the public. This message was directly aimed at the very people accused of bending and breaking the rules just so they could line their own pockets.
Combine this with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) recently delivering its second list of names of officials suspected of graft, and the move to cleanse the “civil service” of dirty officials at a level that directly affects everyday people’s lives seems to be moving forward.
The list delivered last week identified 152 officers, including high-ranking officials such as ministerial permanent secretaries, and ex-Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, who is accused of having asked for more than B150mn to have land titles issued amounting to more than a billion baht.
To be fair, Mr Wichai is far from alone in facing accusations of graft, and this should be of no surprise to readers (see story here). Of note is that PM Prayut’s anti-graft missive to officials came within 48 hours of the embarrassing debacle of Phuket resident Colin Vard and his now famous daughter Jessie marching on Bangkok to plea for justice in their case of alleged extortion. (See story here).
The powers that be finally recognised the danger in ignoring their plea, perhaps because they finally understood that when the world begins to rally behind a teenage foreign girl calling for justice in Thailand, the message has been written loud and clear on the Facebook wall for the world to see. Corruption is rife, and nothing is being done about it.
For many expats who call Phuket home, corruption has always been a part of living here, it was only the extent that it directly affected everyday people’s lives that mattered. Even the “victimless” plundering of state coffers has long been considered “not a good thing”, but nowhere near as bad as direct exploitation of individuals.
But the new campaign brings hope, hope that the days of complicity and the belief that wearing a uniform implies impunity have gone. Now we shall wait and see how serious PM Prayut is with this latest purge.