Thailand ranks 101 in global corruption index
Thailand’s score in Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index stands at 36 out of 100 for a second year, though its ranking has dropped from 99 to 101. The country shares the ranking with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Panama, and Peru. Its corruption score rose from 35 in 2016 to 37 in 2017 before dropping a point again in 2018.
Meanwhile, Denmark and New Zealand ranked as the least corrupt with a score of 87, followed by Finland at 86 and Singapore, Switzerland, and Sweden at 85 points. Singapore tops Asia and Asean as the least corrupt.
Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, said graft is rife in Thailand due to bureaucracy in state agencies.
In a Facebook post he said that though graft is gradually being eliminated in the private sector, he is concerned about the government because the bureaucratic system enhances the likelihood of kickbacks. “The public sector needs an overhaul as it is run through nepotism. It allows state officials to get away with wrongdoing without being examined. Power abuse, double standards and intervention in independent organisations still exists because examining corruption cases is not really practical.”
Patricia Moreira, managing director of Transparency International, said: “To have any chance of ending corruption, we must tackle the relationship between politics and big money.”