A new generation of corruption

The recent survey of Thai high-school students showed that 81 per cent of them were of the opinion that if one becomes too honest, one risks being taken advantage of. Fifty-three per cent of those surveyed said that corruption is acceptable if the corrupt politicians or officials involved are able to perform or produce a tangible result. Pakdee said the views expressed by youngsters reflected a gradual change in the public's attitude towards corruption.

Corruption happens when state officials or politicians violate laws and ethics or engage in illegal exercises for personal gain. It always happens at the expense of the country's interests.

Every Thai government vows to take serious action to combat corruption. Despite this, there are always widespread allegations of graft among state officials and politicians, though very few such allegations are substantiated because the investigators and the persons who committed the offence tend to come from the same group. The public has started to lose interest in corruption allegations and following through on the results when charges are laid.

This failure to pursue allegations vigorously has tarnished Thailand's image when it comes to transparency. The 2007 Corruption Perception Index, organised by Transparency International, placed Thailand at 84 among 179 countries.

Thailand received a score of 3.3, very low compared to that of Denmark, which ranked first in the survey with 9.4 points out of 10. Thailand has never scored above 4 in the survey, Pakdee said.

But there seems to be a light at the end of tunnel now that the judicial system is functioning to combat corruption and is gearing up to take the scalps of those who have committed offences in the past. Youngsters and the general public have become more interested in seeing how these pending cases will shape up. Let's hope that whoever is responsible will show the youngsters that justice prevails and there's no compromise when it comes to corruption.