PHUKET: An anti-corruption parade that takes place on Phuket this Sunday will be mirrored by similar parades in Bangkok and throughout many other provinces.
The march through Phuket Town marks the beginning of a campaign by all branches of the Chamber of Commerce. However, it's of special significance on Phuket because Phuket has been described as ''the most corrupt province in Thailand.''
Sunday's parade has a sad aspect. The man who started the anti-corruption push earlier this year, Dusit Nontanakorn, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade, died of leukemia aged 64 this month.
Towards the end, he told an interviewer: ''If there's one last thing I can do, this would be it - fighting corruption.''
His message lives on: Don't wai the corrupt.
Khun Dusit was among those who realise that without corruption, Thailand would be a much better place to live and work. Without corruption, education and health could become Thailand's real priorities.
The Secretary General of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, Dr Sirichai Silpa-Ar-Cha, said yesterday that Khun Dusit's good work needed to be continued and Phuket would do its bit.
Transportation was Phuket's most obviously corrupt aspect, he said, with the need for public buses at reasonable fares so all residents could get around safely.
''Without corruption, people would be amazed at how much progress could be made on Phuket very quickly,'' he said. The Chamber also supported the introduction of a mass-transit system ''in the correct way.''
Dr Sirichai emphasised that realistic salaries for police and public officials would be a starting point in doing away with corruption.
He even suggested that most of Prime Minister Yingluck's salary of 100,000 a month would go on traditional donations she was obliged to make for the weddings and funerals of friends and associates.
''Getting the pay structure right would make a huge difference,'' Dr Sirichai said.
The parade begins at 8am on Sunday in Montri Road Phuket City, near the Chamber of Commerce office and Seng-Ho bookstore. For details call 076 217567 in office hours.
Phuket's Jet-Ski Operators told: Behave or You're OutThe march through Phuket Town marks the beginning of a campaign by all branches of the Chamber of Commerce. However, it's of special significance on Phuket because Phuket has been described as ''the most corrupt province in Thailand.''
Sunday's parade has a sad aspect. The man who started the anti-corruption push earlier this year, Dusit Nontanakorn, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade, died of leukemia aged 64 this month.
Towards the end, he told an interviewer: ''If there's one last thing I can do, this would be it - fighting corruption.''
His message lives on: Don't wai the corrupt.
Khun Dusit was among those who realise that without corruption, Thailand would be a much better place to live and work. Without corruption, education and health could become Thailand's real priorities.
The Secretary General of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, Dr Sirichai Silpa-Ar-Cha, said yesterday that Khun Dusit's good work needed to be continued and Phuket would do its bit.
Transportation was Phuket's most obviously corrupt aspect, he said, with the need for public buses at reasonable fares so all residents could get around safely.
''Without corruption, people would be amazed at how much progress could be made on Phuket very quickly,'' he said. The Chamber also supported the introduction of a mass-transit system ''in the correct way.''
Dr Sirichai emphasised that realistic salaries for police and public officials would be a starting point in doing away with corruption.
He even suggested that most of Prime Minister Yingluck's salary of 100,000 a month would go on traditional donations she was obliged to make for the weddings and funerals of friends and associates.
''Getting the pay structure right would make a huge difference,'' Dr Sirichai said.
The parade begins at 8am on Sunday in Montri Road Phuket City, near the Chamber of Commerce office and Seng-Ho bookstore. For details call 076 217567 in office hours.
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I do not know if it is a joke but it looks to move in the right direction. The weak point is there is no Phuket Anti-Corruption Association in Phuket province to coordinate legal battle and lodge official complaints in the name of that association against corrupted civil servants and greedy business-people.
Lodging a complaint at Damrungtam (Ombudsman) Office (Governor Provincial Hall) is the best that can be done for the moment.
Posted by Whistle-Blower on September 21, 2011 11:30