Bangkok: "Thepthai" has expressed his disappointment over the current state of affairs in Thailand, highlighting issues of vote buying for Members of Parliament (MPs) and the purchasing of exam scores for civil service positions. He has called for urgent intervention from Anutin Charnvirakul, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
According to Thai News Agency, political observer Thepthai Senpong shared his concerns on his Facebook page, "Thepthai - Political Talk," lamenting the prevalence of corruption in government recruitment processes. Recent revelations have uncovered a corruption scandal involving civil service and local government recruitment exams under the Ministry of Interior. Anutin Charnvirakul commented on the situation, expressing his disbelief at the high costs associated with securing positions, with bribes ranging from 350,000 to 700,000 baht, despite the positions offering salaries of less than 15,000 baht per month.
Anutin's comments reflect a broader issue of ordinary citizens striving for governmental positions to secure a stable future for their children, only to be met with demands for significant financial investments. This exploitation disproportionately affects the children of ordinary villagers, and Thepthai has urged Anutin to address this long-standing issue that persists despite previous reforms intended to curb nepotism and favoritism in recruitment exams.
Thepthai reminded the public of a previous scandal in 2009, during Anutin's father's tenure as Minister of Interior, which led to the cancellation of district officer training exams due to corruption. He highlighted the shameful recurrence of such scandals under Anutin's leadership and emphasized the need for decisive action to prevent these practices from tarnishing the reputation of the Ministry of Interior.
Thepthai also stressed the importance of eradicating corruption from Thai society to improve the country's standing in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), where it currently ranks 116th. He called for a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of corruption, including vote buying and election fraud among politicians, as well as bribery in civil service recruitment.
In conclusion, Thepthai urged Anutin to take swift and decisive action to eliminate these corrupt practices, warning that failure to do so will hinder efforts to improve the quality of civil servants and the overall governance of the country.