Published on January 13, 2006

Latest anti-corruption move shows PM is anxious to cool an angry electorate

Welcoming the “year of the fierce dog”, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has made no secret of his desire to stay in power until 2009.

Dubbed the “wizard with weak magic” by Government House reporters, Thaksin is trying to recover some of his old magic by tackling his own weaknesses.

Many recent incidents can be interpreted as signs of Thaksin’s renewed efforts to maintain his hold on power:

lThe speculation since last year that the Shinawatra family plans to sell its 49.6-per-cent controlling stake in Shin Corp Plc – worth about US$1.5 billion (Bt61.35 billion) – could, if true, show a desire to silence criticism about conflicts of interest on the part of Thaksin’s family;

lThe attempt to restore Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka to the post of auditor-general after an 18-month impasse. It’s no secret who the mastermind behind removing Jaruvan from her post was, after all;

lThaksin will hold a workshop in At Samat district of Roi Et next week to show how he intends to eradicate poverty;

lThe Premier’s meeting with around 500 businesspeople at Government House on Wednesday was aimed at boosting business confidence after a difficult 2005;

lHaving ignored statesman Prem Tinsulanonda’s attempts to restore peace in the deep South, Thaksin yesterday met the former prime minister – who successfully extinguished the fires of southern separatism in the 1980s – to send a message that he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with him;

lIn the latest news, Thaksin appointed himself the flag-bearer in the crackdown on corruption.

Focusing on his new role as chief graft-buster, some might be tempted to pinch themselves, not believing their ears that Thaksin is seriously concerned about tackling corruption scandals – his delight in Thailand’s rise in the transparency rankings last year notwithstanding.

In October, Transparency International upped Thailand’s global ranking to 59th in the corruption perception index of 159 countries, compared with 64th in 2004. Thailand scored 3.8 out of a possible 10, and was ranked seventh among 25 Asian countries.

Thaksin failed to deliver after declaring war on corruption five years ago. So why is he taking the problem so seriously this time?

Besides his desire to stay on until the end of his term in 2009, another reason for his anti-graft crackdown is the creation of the Corruption Watch website (www.corruptionwatch.net) by respected anti-graft figures such as Jaruvan and Klanarong Chantik, the former head of the National Counter Corruption Commission.

The website has been praised by a public that has grown weary of rampant graft, and is seen as a tool for people to scrutinise the government’s use of power.

Inevitably, people will say that the decline in Thaksin’s popularity over the last year was due to his failure to rein in corruption.

How did Thaksin sit still after the Corruption Watch website was launched? It must have felt like a slap in the face.

Thaksin has also begun to realise that the concern about corruption is getting to the point where it is putting pressure on the PM himself. Even former prime minister Anand Panyarachun weighed in, voicing concern about graft scandals.

“In other societies, some business firms gang up as mafia-style outfits for their mutual interests. In Thai society, entire families cheat – every family – as money politics has become accepted as a social norm,” Anand said last year in his capacity as the chairman of Transparency Thailand.

Another reason Thaksin has personally taken the reins of the corruption crackdown is to prepare his government for the opposition’s censure motion in March. As the opposition declared its intention to expose graft by certain ministers, Thaksin has tried to undermine the opposition’s campaign.

However, some questions remain to be answered. Why has Thaksin waited for so long to tackle corruption? What has he been doing for the past five years? Is it too late?

Perhaps this is Thaksin’s last chance to show his sincerity about eradicating this cruel enemy of the country. It should be very easy for him – all he needs to do is make examples out of those corrupt people who are close to him.

Jintana Panyaarvudh

The Nation

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