Just a few days before reaching mandatory retirement from the civil service in September this year, Khunying Dhipavadee Meksawan was approached to join the Surayud Chulanont government following the September 19 coup that overthrew the previous Thaksin administration.

Dhipavadee put off plans to relax after her long service in government and took up the offer, becoming the PM's Office minister in charge of bureaucratic reform. Her mandate is to promote ethical behaviour and prevent corruption in the two-million-strong civil service and enforce good governance in the public sector.

The holder of a master's degree in public administration from Harvard, Dhipavadee has spent 39 of her 60 years in the bureaucracy. She joined the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) in 1967 and eventually rose to the position of secretary-general. Under the former Thaksin administration she helped implement the most comprehensive structural reform of Thailand's bureaucracy since the reign of King Rama V.

"You could call it a major overhaul of the bureaucracy. The first phase was carried out around 2002. Prior to that, such drastic reform was not possible because our governments were mostly short-lived coalition governments. They didn't stay in office long enough to do it. Originally the programme consisted of structural reform, fiscal budgetary reform, work-process reform, legal reform and attitude change.

"During the first two years of the Thaksin government we did the structural and related legal reforms of the bureaucracy. Like an old engine used for a long time, we needed to overhaul it in a major way. Today we have a total of 149 departments in 20 ministries.

As for the current Surayud government, the emphasis is on ethical behaviour. Simply put, ethics is goodness. We hope to encourage members of the civil service, old and new, to

be ethical as well as competent," she says.

"HM the King's initiatives on sufficiency economy are among the guiding principles.

"As you may be aware, the forces of globalisation have led to increased consumerism, greed, materialism, conspicuous consumption etc. These are seen as a major factor encouraging people to behave inappropriately or unethically.

"In fact, inappropriate behaviour such as corruption happens in both public and private sectors. It's like a disease. When our body or our organisation is strong, we tend to be able to ward off the disease, but when we're weak, it gets worse. As far as corruption is concerned, its prevention depends a lot on an organisation's leadership as well as its immune system. For example, if we eat properly, exercise etc, we can stay healthy. If not, we may get sick," says Dhipavadee.

The PM's Office minister proposes setting up a new office at the Justice Ministry to combat corruption in the lower and middle ranks of the civil service. By law, the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) is empowered only to take actions against high-ranking state officials at level C9 and above, but no agency is directly responsible for combating corruption among lower-ranking officials.

"The new anti-corruption office at the Justice Ministry will deal with the C8 and lower ranks, especially officials in potentially vulnerable posts such as those responsible for finance, procurement, bidding, mega-projects and taxation. They should be required to declare assets and liabilities publicly in order to lessen corruption," Dhipavadee says.

"Second, we'll deal with the issue of conflict of interest within the civil service, especially regarding appointments to key positions. For example, when a senior official is named director-general of a department, his or her spouse, or brothers or sisters or other relatives may not work within the same unit.

"A working group is drafting rules and regulations on this matter so as to promote good governance in the civil service and prevent conflict between public and private interests. To be effective, we need specific rules and regulations so that we do not have to rely on judgement.

"In cases where there is an obvious conflict of interest due to a key appointment, we will provide a new job placement or relocation service for the affected spouse or relative so that they can continue working happily at other state agencies."

"Third, we'll introduce a performance-reporting system for all members of the civil service so that their good deeds, achievements etc are permanently and properly recorded. We hope this will reinforce the willpower of those who want to serve the public well or even convince those who have done wrong to come clean," says Dhipavadee.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com