Phuket Opinion: Take the win

The cases run the gamut from two police generals operating an illegal online gambling operation to more than 100 officers under investigation for their role in illegally issuing visas to Chinese crime-lord minions. Not to mention the shakedown against a Taiwanese actress exposed only after she dared police to go public with the so-called video evidence they claimed they had proving her claims were false, with that shakedown bested only a week later by a police officer extorting B60,000 from a foreign tourist for possession of an e-cigarette in Pattaya – as if that is the worst that city can offer. Check the news for more examples.

Of course at this stage all this is at least it is the appearance of taking action against corrupt law enforcement and other officials. What actually happens to those under investigation, and any punishment handed down, remains to be seen.

The pretense is nigh laughable, as if the high-profile media coverage of the “good cops” taking action is in any way an improvement on the status quo, like pretending no other officers had any idea these antics were going on, for years. There is also no guarantee that the officers replacing those now under investigation are doing any different, and while the spotlight is on a handful of systemic corrupt practices now under investigation, no one is taking a good, hard look at any other underhanded operations still going on. In the current situation, that serves only one group of people.

Probably the best example of how appalling the attempts are to be seen to be doing the right thing is the two police generals now wanted for their macau888.com online gambling operation. If no action is taken, Chuvit Kamolvisit, a former massage parlour tycoon, will make information about the police generals and the operation public. 

Yes, the actual action by the government in this case is nothing more than firefighting to prevent more damage being done that the current regime cannot control. The situation is that bad – and as can be seen by the lack of reaction among the general public, no one is actually surprised by any of this.

What will be hilarious – or miserably sad, depending on your bent – is waiting for this sudden awareness and motivation to take action to be sold as a political point-scoring when canvassing finally begins for the national election later this year. Again, as if people will not notice that the extent of corruption evident right now blossomed during the years of reign of the current government. Apparently voters will simply not notice.

In all this, any attempt to straighten out at least some corrupt practices is to be taken as a good sign, even if it is because there is very little “good officials” can do than recognise what is being evidenced in public. For now, we should just take the win.

After all, according to the latest Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, right now Thailand is on par with Albania, Panama, Serbia and Kazakhstan. If we keep at it, Thailand might finally catch up to the more-ethical likes of Kosovo, Ethiopia and Vietnam.