Thailand slips in worldwide corruption index

[buksida]

Thailand ranks 10th in Asia, third in Southeast Asia and 84th in the world in this year's corruption index released by the global graft watchdog Transparency International.

The Kingdom scored 3.4 out of 10 in the rankings, which range from zero for highly corrupt to 10 for very clean.

Last year, Thailand was also ranked 10th in Asia, Transparency Thailand said yesterday. It ranked 80th in the world last year so Thailand's No.84 position this year means the country is being perceived as increasingly corrupt.

The scores are based on perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts.

Singapore was the cleanest country in Asia and topped 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with its score of 9.2. Malaysia was second in the grouping with the score of 4.5.

Burma was last in Southeast Asia, scoring 1.4, followed by Cambodia and Laos, both scoring 2.0.

New Zealand was the least corrupt country in the world, ranking first at 9.4, followed by Denmark at 9.3 and then Singapore.

The most corrupt nation on Earth remained Somalia, the impoverished and war-torn Horn of Africa state that has been without a functioning government for two decades.

Overall, the 2009 corruption list is "of great concern," the organisation said, with the majority of countries scoring under five in the ranking.

The bottom five - Somalia, Afghanistan, Burma, Sudan and Iraq - show that "countries which are perceived as the most corrupt are also those plagued by long-standing conflicts, which have torn apart their governance infrastructure," TI said.

The graft watchdog hit out at rich countries over shady banking practices yesterday as it published its annual rankings naming and shaming the world's most corrupt countries.

"Corrupt money must not find a safe haven. It is time to put an end to excuses," said the Berlin-based group's head Huguette Labelle.

In the wake of the financial crisis, the Group of 20 (G20) industrialised countries turned up the heat on tax havens, targeting rich countries with long-held banking secrecy laws like Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

But Ms Labelle said extra efforts were imperative, calling for more bilateral treaties on information exchange in order to "fully end the secrecy regime."

Nevertheless, six years after the US-led invasion and the chaos that followed, Iraq was perceived to be slightly cleaner, with its score rising to 1.5 points from 1.3. It also climbed two places in the list.

But Afghanistan, where countries forming a 100,000-strong international force are pressing President Hamid Karzai to stamp out graft eight years after the ouster of the Taliban, slid from 1.5 points in 2008 to 1.3 in 2009.

The United States inched up from 7.3 points to 7.5 but dropped one place in the rankings to 19th.

China's rating was stable at 3.6 points but also fell seven places to 79th in the index.

Source: Bangkok Post

Thoughts: No surprise really, its painfully obvious that Thailand is in reverse gears more often than forward ones.

Here is the full list: http://www.transparency.org/policy_rese ... 2009_table

[Spitfire]

Singapore was the cleanest country in Asia and topped 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with its score of 9.2. Malaysia was second in the grouping with the score of 4.5.

No surprise about Singapore being top but that's a big gap to Malaysia.

Thailand in such distinguished company with the likes of Panama/Malawi/Lesotho.

[lomuamart]

I think the big word is perception. In other words, no hard facts.
No doubt that Thailand is corrupt, but to compare any country on perceptions is erroneous at best.
For instance, just look at the UK with politicians' expense claims or fat cats' bonuses.
There's some form of corruption everywhere.

[Spitfire]

^Yes, I suppose it's ambiguous and simply implying the results with all the connotations that go with it. It would be nigh-on impossible to get many hard facts. They just asked business investors past, present and possible future on their thoughts/experiences. I suppose though that this sort of stuff does effect businessmen and their inclinations/perceptions of places and could influence their actions or investments.

[lomuamart]

^Yes, I suppose it's ambiguous and simply implying the results with all the connotations that go with it. It would be nigh-on impossible to get many hard facts. They just asked business investors past, present and possible future on their thoughts/experiences. I suppose though that this sort of stuff does effect businessmen and their inclinations/perceptions of places and could influence their actions or investments.

True.

[STEVE G]

If you look at the website for Transparency International they do go into some detail about how they get their results.
They also have another league from the supplier side of the nations most likely to bribe, but the results for this year aren't out yet.

[charlesh]

Afghanistan has slipped three places to become the world's second most-corrupt country despite billions in aid meant to bolster the government against a rising insurgency, according to an annual survey of perceived levels of corruption.
Only lawless Somalia, whose weak U.N.-backed government controls just a few blocks of the capital, was perceived as more corrupt than Afghanistan in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

The fact that they can get on a boat and lob in Oz (to export their behaviours) probably explains why Oz didn't figure at the other end of the scale. Maybe the Transparency Index watchdogs have figured out that some people in Oz don't necessarily do these things altruistically or dare I say it for the good of the country but for a chance to line up next to the trough!

[Lung Per]

Where is Italy, Norway and the Balkan nations???

[lomuamart]

Where is Italy, Norway and the Balkan nations???

Somewhere west of here.

[The understudy]

Hi there Y'all

sometimes i have problems articulate myself in english but in German it would not e a problem.

I think this post by Krid Discssion 30 on the opinion posting section of the Bangkok Post site same artcle speak Xactly my thoughts on this subject.

In Thailand a job position is often seen not as a duty to serve, but as an entitlement to put one's grubby hands into the cookie jar.
The level of "self-service" pilfering, embezzlement and "borrow but not return" with budgets and other funds is enormous in this country, especially in the public sector. But it's hardly ever reported as it would lead to huge loss of face for those concerned and for the oh-so image conscious country.
The reason is of course the top-down feudal sakdina system. The "puu yai" are not taken to task and steal with impunity. The "puu noi", including the press and prosecutors, don't dare to go against the big fish who will bite and kill if cornered.
And the "puu noi" and the general public aren't even against corruption because for them it's the only faint chance to ever get their hands on the honey pots themselves should they ever attain a higher position in the public or private sector.
The feudal system is the root of corruption in Thailand and as long as this system is in place, nothing will change.
As for the Thaksin regime, it's true that the most blatant government corruption (officers openly asking for money as was common in the 90s) was curtailed a bit, and the corruption-feeding shadow economy (drugs, underground lottery, racketeering etc., estimated at over 50% of the Thai economy by Transparencey International) were in more trouble than under the always ineffectual Democrats.
I have doubts things will improve under the current government because the conservative class backing them don't want changes to the feudal system.

it's been untold but there still the Sak Dinah casts System in Place here in Thailand. Officially denied by the Govt. and everybody have the equal opportunity to move up the ladder out of poverty and into a prosper Life.
In Reality do you thnk this applies the poor souls in deep Issan too?

Your's The understduy!!!

[sandman67]

I love life here....never a dull day for the irony muscles.

This little snippet appears in the same days papers as the report that the stinking swine in parliament have voted emselves a payrise...a couple of days after a whole bunch absented themselves and closed parliament down so they could go see the King of Thieves over the border!

ho ho ho ho