Our war against graft requires action

The controversial cop killing at a house party in Nakhon Pathom province hosted by Praween “Kamnan Nok” Chankhlai has spotlighted the unholy collaboration between local mafias and policemen. In this partner-in-crime relationship, bribery has been the currency that greases the wheel of corruption, from rigged procurement to bribes for overweight trucks. As such, the Kamnan […]

Temple corruption erodes public faith

Thanthip Srisuwannaket  As corruption soars in predominantly Buddhist Thailand, its temples are also facing a serious erosion of public faith due to rife corruption in the closed, nontransparent clergy. Thailand’s latest ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in 2020 continues to sink despite the government’s promise to get tough on corruption. Last year, […]

Using technology to fill the gap in welfare delivery

Bonnwara Sumano & Suttipong Kanakanorn The threat of digitally disruptive technologies has caused many people to grow concerned as they fret about disappearing jobs due to greater automation and advanced technology replacing humans on factory floors, in offices and elsewhere. But such technology can also work wonders to improve the country’s welfare delivery system. Better […]

TDRI Quarterly Review (September 2017)

Contents Khanitha Hongprayoon Deunden Nikomborirak Corruption: Lessons learned from Seoul to Bangkok Jirawat Suriyashotichyangkul, Nonarit Bisonyabut, Supachai Sompol Way forward in enhancing business and preventing human rights abuses, and the role of the national human rights commission of Thailand

Tackling ‘white elephant’ syndrome

Tippatrai Saelawong Most people in Thailand, be they business people, foreign investors or the public, would agree that the country urgently needs to invest in building, extending and upgrading its public infrastructure. At the same time, they would also cast doubt over the administrative transparency of infrastructure projects. For many years, political instability resulted in […]

Factors affecting the decision to act dishonestly

Boonwara Sumano Corruption is something everybody has been talking about and some are even upset about. Unfortunately corruption is a subject which people understand very little about. This is because corruption involves dishonest actions that are both immoral and illegal, which prompts people to conceal it. A number of previous studies attempted to look at […]

Empower parents, kids to curb corruption in our schools

Pasit Wongngamdee The back-to-school period is approaching and many parents may be worried about the quality of their children’s schools. Poor quality of education stems largely from a lack of resources, overcrowded classrooms and unqualified teachers as a result of corruption. The scandalous, massive, cheating that marked the 2013 assistant teacher recruitment exam is a […]

How to boost confidence in the police

TIPPATRAI SAELAWONG THANAPAT CHATINAKROB Ask Thais which state agency needs to undergo reforms first, and most would have no hesitation in suggesting the police service. This is because policing affects people’s everyday lives while the police force has long been criticised for its inefficiency, influence peddling and corruption. According to a survey in 2014 by […]

Multifaceted reform is needed to tackle corruption

DEUNDEN NIKOMBORIRAK TIPPATRAI SAELAWONG Corruption has, once again, become the main discussion point in Thai society following the publication of two corruption indexes: Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Corruption Situation Index (CSI). Transparency International’s CPI does not reveal a big change to the situation […]