BANGKOK, Dec 10 – Thai politicians have been branded as the most corrupt people in the country, followed by civil servants, according to a Suan Dusit University poll.
The poll was conducted among 1,289 Thais nationwide after Transparency International ranked Thailand 88th among 176 countries in its latest global corruption survey.
Thailand received 37 out of 100 points on national transparency, with its position dropping from 78th in 2010 and 80th in 2011 – the worst in the past five years.
According to the Suan Dusit survey, 45.39 per cent of respondents believe politicians, both at national and local levels, are corrupt while 30.42 per cent point the finger at civil servants, 12.86 per cent at police/military and 11.51 per cent at businessmen/investors.
Asked for their feedback on Thailand’s 88th ranking worldwide, one-third — 33 per cent — say they feel ashamed and it tarnishes the country’s image, while nearly as many, 28 per cent, describe corruption as an urgent issue that must be addressed by the government now, 23 per cent say they feel sorry for the country having an increasing number of corrupt people, particularly politicians, and 16 per cent call for harsher punishment and serious enforcement of the law.
The Transparency International’s survey commends Denmark, Finland and New Zealand as the least corrupt countries while Singapore is top ranked in Asia, followed by Hong Kong and Japan.
