Last Friday, Transparency International (TI), the world's leading anti-corruption NGO, released a major report looking at corruption in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). It also contains suggestions Thailand should heed for the new charter to effectively tame corruption.
An emphasis on fighting corruption is evident in the draft constitution. It has a chapter on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and additional sections on the declaration of assets, taxes and shareholdings by politicians and civil servants.
The concept of an organic law on counter-corruption is also introduced to prevent and suppress corruption. Since there will be much speculation on this yet-to-be-drafted law, the latest data and advice from TI deserves serious consideration.
TI's report examines the issue of corruption from the Asean viewpoint, seeking to understand how corruption in Asean countries is inter-linked. In particular, it is concerned with how the Asean Economic Community (AEC), due to be implemented by the end of 2015, could, in effect, worsen corrupt practices via the increased cross-border trade, higher flow of capital and greater freedom of movement of labour. As such, it recommends an "Asean Integrity Community" based on transparency and accountability.
Unfortunately for Asean, the report points out that, of the 10 member states, only Malaysia and Singapore are considered not very corrupt. Worse, police forces are perceived by Asean citizens as the most corrupt of public institutions, scoring 3.9 on a scale of one to five, five being very corrupt. This is a major problem for trans-boundary issues, especially considering that Thailand is already recognised as a hub for human trafficking and as such has been downgraded by the US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report.
Moreover, the citizens of Asean are unlikely to be able to obtain redress from their politicians (3.6), from public officials (3.5), or from the judiciary (3.4). Fortunately for Thailand's present military government, the military is seen as significantly less corrupt (2.8), with religious bodies providing a baseline of 2.2 - still of deep concern.
The draft constitution's emphasis on enlisting citizens to counter corruption and on a citizen's right to scrutinise and monitor public organisations may well be very constructive, as the TI report highlights the fact that 71% of Thais feel that they can make a difference in fighting corruption, though this is significantly lower than the regional average of 76%.
The report points out that low levels of corruption are seen as correlated with sustainable development, prioritised in the draft constitution through mentioned in a number of sections and in particular in the parts on the sufficiency economy, sustainable development of natural resources, and sustainable agriculture.
Using the example of how education can lead to sustainable development, the report points out that a previous TI study indicates how higher levels of transparency of information - for example on a school's budget, on resource allocation by education ministries, and on appointment methods for school administrators and teachers - is positively correlated with higher literacy rates for children.
The problem with the draft charter on this issue is that a citizen has to seek out such information. Section 70 only provides for a citizen to "have the right to request information on, and to monitor … institutions such as schools".
There is an alternative. TI recommends "transparency websites" whereby public bodies, from the local to the national level, publish accounts of all revenue and expenditure of organisations via financial reports and evidence such as image files of receipts. The report also makes the link between bribery and poverty, which is high in Thailand. Basically, countries with high bribery rates such as Thailand develop less quickly, one reason being the poor have little recourse to the law and are more likely to be preyed upon.
It is good news that the draft constitution does call for extensive reform of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and allows for "public participation process in police businesses" and for representatives of local administration, such as mayors, to formally participate in police investigations if requested by the public. Crucially, the draft also calls for police administration to be decentralised to provincial levels - again, providing for the potential of transparency websites on RTP financial accounts. Amid fierce resistance from the police force, how to make police reform a reality remains to be seen.
TI sees corruption as a direct barrier to the achievement of the AEC. Firstly, bribery at the borders serves as non-tariff barriers to trade. Furthermore, corruption in government procurement results in lower quality and delays. Moreover, rampant venality in infrastructure construction causing massive losses to the public purse and setbacks. Given Thailand's position as a logistics hub and the present government's stated position to develop high-speed train mega-projects linking southwest China with Bangkok, all these potential corridors for corruption of the AEC have to be urgently addressed.
Specifically, clean supply chains are needed in areas such as fishing and logging if Asean's member countries are to continue to conduct trade with the European Union. The report also underlines that "crony capitalism" in politics must be combatted if the region's financials are to survive global market crises. In this regard, Section 254 of the draft invokes the NACC to remedy the situation of "any politician who has a circumstance of unusual wealth or exhibits a sign of malfeasance in office". While the draft constitution seems to take a holistic approach to the fight against corruption, transparency and public oversight must be built into it by default through mention of transparency websites carrying records of the financial transactions of all public offices.
Finally, a strong role for civil society organisations must be incorporated in the draft constitution in order to provide normative checks and balances.
Dr Peerasit Kamnuansilpa is founding dean, College of Local Administration, Khon Kaen University. John Draper is project officer, Isan Culture Maintenance and Revitalisation Programme, College of Local Administration, Khon Kaen University.