Today
my flaneurial activities find me safely ensconced in the delightfully
cool environs of the Sittisang coffee house in the centre of the
Chinese section of old town Kanchanaburi. It is only a few minutes
past midday but already the temperature outside has climbed to the
giddying heights of 35 degrees centigrade and going up. Over time, I
have become acclimatised to these levels but there comes a stage as
the mercury climbs above the mid 30s that one needs, if at all
possible, simply to escape the heat. Fortunately, Kanchanaburi is
blessed with numerous cafes many of which are air-conditioned. The
tourist area down near the Kwai has many such establishments but
occasionally, in the flaneurial spirit, I like to take a slow stroll
downtown to areas where one scarcely sees another 'farang'.
It
is curious how often in such circumstances one will come across
police officers. To be fair, it is as hot for them as for the rest of
us. It is a little surprising though, to me at least, to be able to
spend a couple of hours composing the latest blog continuously in the
company of these same gentlemen from the local constabulary. When in
Thailand, and for that matter in many other Eastern countries, a
certain adjustment of one's concept of the police officer and their
role in society is often required. Here in Thailand it is as much an
entrepreneurial activity as a public duty.
I
was discussing these aspects with a Canadian ex-pat the other day. He
related a situation where a friend of his, a Thai, had died in a
motor cycle accident (not an uncommon occurrence here,
unfortunately). The police, having gathered all the available
evidence, taken all the necessary measurements and interviewed the
appropriate witnesses then brought the relevant parties together and
essentially asked them to make their bids. It seems that the
attribution of guilt or innocence is not so much dependent on the
details of the incident but on the depth of the pockets of the
protagonists or, as in this case, their relatives.
Such
corruption, whilst appearing to be surprising to the Western eye, is
a way of life in Thailand. So normal is it in fact that the average
Thai would find it curious that such events could be seen as in
any way strange by a Western observer.
To
be fair, this is not only the case in Thailand. For some years in the
UK I assisted a young Chinese woman in her efforts to gain asylum. In
her particular case the details were quite favourable to her cause
but at almost every turn there was the assumption on her part of 'who
do we need to pay off now?' At times, I had to restrain her from
making such inappropriate offers to officials for fear of
inadvertently prejudicing her case. The notion of making progress in
these areas without the need to bribe anyone was completely foreign
to her and difficult to understand, so normal was it to conduct
affairs of this sort in such a way in the land that she originated
from.
Here
in Thailand corruption could almost be thought of as the basic
structure that holds the society together. A complex interaction of
relationships based on favours given and received. I recently read of
a survey in the redoubtable Bangkok Post which asked 352 companies if
they would endeavour to turn their backs on corrupt business
practices. All but 9 said that they would not and, indeed, could not.
Without indulging in such practices, they reasoned, how could normal
business exist at all? One suspects that the 9 who thought otherwise
may not have actually believed that but had merely struck what they
thought to be the appropriate pose.
From
the top of society to the bottom bribery, back-handers and nepotism
are the norm. I read an interesting piece online recently. It told
the story of the NACC (the National Anti-Corruption Commission) being
called to conduct an enquiry into the conduct of some members of the
government. In order to facilitate this process they were given a
substantial conference room in a plush hotel in Bangkok. When the
members of the anti-corruption commission discovered that the room
allocated to them was overly large for their purposes they arranged
for a section of it to be partitioned off and therein set up a
gambling club. Over the weeks that the commission sat pontificating
on weighty issues the not inconsiderable proceeds of this
establishment were shared between those running the club and the
commission. Such a solution would seem creative to many a Thai mind
and the irony of an anti-corruption committee behaving in such a way
would likely tend to escape them. One has to, however, give due
respect to the committee's expertise in the field of corruption...
During
a recent election in the North of the country, observers discovered
that large amounts of votes had been purchased in return for
livestock. Apparently the going rate was one chicken one vote. It
makes a change from one man one vote, I suppose, but rather misses
the point of a democratic system. When questioned about such foul/fowl
practice many of those bribed in this way could see nothing wrong,
viewing it as merely a transaction between a buyer and a seller. The
only way that the observers could get any kind of understanding from
the voters involved was by asking them if, in their opinion, their
integrity was only worth one chicken. At this stage some of the
voters seemed to feel slightly uneasy (chickens are generally not
highly respected in Thailand) but for many it was merely a market
situation and the concept of voter integrity did not really enter into their heads.
Interestingly,
when questioned about other matters, these very same voters were
extremely vocal in their complaints against corrupt officials and
government representatives but seemed completely unable to make the
connection to their own corrupt behaviour. It seems they considered
themselves the victims but never the perpetrators. Corruption is a
mind set here, a way of being.
As
one can imagine, all this makes national politics something of a
nightmare in Thailand. One corrupt regime follows another, each one
seemingly even more rapacious than the last. Every now and then the
army steps in to bring some resolution to the chaos but pretty soon
the whole merry-go-round starts again. The current incumbent, a
member of the Shinawatra family, is likely to be deposed following
next weeks Songkran festival (the NACC is investigating a case
which is likely to go against her). As far as I can ascertain the
chief feeling against this family is that they have occupied the
government long enough and it is time for someone else to take their
place. It is not so much that they are corrupt, or at least not any
more corrupt than those in opposition, it is just felt that they have
had their nose in the trough for quite long enough and it is time for
someone else to take a turn.
That
someone else may end up being the formidable Suthep Thaugsuban, this
despite having a murder charge hanging over his head for the last
decade and allegations that his own previous administration were
deeply mired in corrupt practices of their own. The voluble Suthep
(he has been talking every evening for weeks in a park in Bangkok in
his bid to oust the current government) is the leader of the People's
Democratic Reform Committee. As noted in a previous blog, the
particular element of democracy that this party wishes to reform is
voting. The electorate, in their view, keeps voting for the wrong
people (ie., not them), so the process is obviously in need of reform
so that votes cannot actually decide the outcome and stop them
holding power. An interesting way of looking at the democratic process...
Interestingly,
when asked whether it would be a good idea to get outside (U.N.)
observers in to monitor elections and make sure they were fair,
Suthep, without the slightest awareness of the irony of his
statement, said: 'I don't respect farangs.' Now, apart from the
blatant racism of this statement ('farang' is basically a derogatory
term for foreigners, particularly of the Western variety), its
implication that the Thai electoral process needs no help from the
outside seems to fly in the face of all the evidence to the contrary. What is required by Suthep and the PDRC is not so much as a fair election as one in which they are likely to win power.
Fortunately,
this country runs despite its government, not because of it. The
government has effectively been paralysed for several months now, not
an unusual situation in Thailand, yet somehow life goes on in much
the same way as ever: the businesses continue to pay the bribes,
organised crime continues its presence in the administration of the
country, the buses continue to be driven off viaducts on a regular
basis (strangely, always as the result of brake failure according to the
reports...seems oddly contagious here). Little happens about these
issues because there is little public or political will to make it
happen. This is Thailand and it is the way things have been done
since ages past.
Despite
the political impasse, people go about their normal business. The
shops continue to sell their wares in the centre of Kanchanaburi. The
proprietor at this café sits awaiting customers on this very hot
afternoon, much as he always does. I continue to tap out my blog. Thailand remains one of the
most beautiful countries I have ever visited. The fauna and flora are
incredibly varied and abundant here and quite something to behold. The people themselves are
friendly, charming and very easy going. The culture is also deep and
fascinating. In many ways I would advise almost anyone to come and
experience this remarkable land but forewarned is forearmed...
The
problem is that if one ventures to spend some time in this land, one
needs to understand that corruption is embedded in the very structure
of life here. Given that, my best guess would be that they are about
a century away from being about to run any sort of democracy actually
worthy of the name here. It would not be a mere change of politics, that would be the easy part, but would require a fundamental change of culture.
To
paraphrase Abraham Lincoln's Gettysberg address, what we have here is
corruption of the people, by the people, for the people. This is not
likely to change any time soon. In the meantime, particularly in the
upcoming months, there may be much turmoil. A good time for a nomadic
flaneur to be leaving Thailand methinks...
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