Contemporary issues in Thailand Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contemporary issues in Thailand - Research Paper Example 2011). This paper discusses these three aforementioned major social problems of Thailand and the country’s attempt to mitigate them. Corruption Corruption has prevailed in Thailand for a long time. This extremely detrimental problem has intensified markedly since the 1932 political transformation (Tarling 2006). Because a bureaucratic regime has dominated all the activities of citizens in the country government corruption has heightened in private and public organizations. Corruption has weakened the society of Thailand and brought about political disorder. This political turmoil that has seized the nation over the recent years is weakening its economic stability. As suspected parties keep on exchanging accusations of corrupt deeds, the necessity for a solution is apparent. Corruption is generally found in the junction between the government and business where claims for ‘facilitation payments’ are prevalent. Corruption is especially concentrated in several public agencies responsible for major financial operations, namely, the Police Department, the Transport Department, Tax and Customs Department, and the Land Department (Chongphermvatanaphol 2003). The primary root of corruption in the country is believed to be ‘money politics’, or the movement of resources within the political arena, arising from the considerable level of interconnectedness present between the political and business sectors (Tarling 2006). There are several causes of and solutions to corruption in Thailand. First, insufficient incomes encourage public servants or government officials to accept backhanders. Salaries in Thailand has normally been inadequate, hence it has been a practice to accept bribes (Tarling 2006). This makes the process of decision making completely unclear or obscure. Second, people’s low level of education results in a condition where citizens do not possess the required knowledge of speaking out their opinions. Third, immense ec onomic gaps between social classes result in numerous problems. This brings about political flux, which then intensifies corruption such as vote buying. Fourth, absence of transparency makes it easy for officials to conceal their crooked activities. The political environment in Thailand has currently been characterized as overwrought (Chongphermvatanaphol 2003). A great deal of this strain is rooted in allegations and cases of corruption and the problem of government authority. Thailand is broadly regarded to be an economy welcoming to businesses and has for a number of years been capable of bidding good investment enticements to foreign businesses, such as tax exemptions, and favorable investment shield in comparison to several other nations in Southeast Asia. Yet, the investment environment of Thailand is still enduring a number of difficulties. Businesses regard corruption to be a major hindrance to business operations in Thailand, alongside undisclosed costs linked to incompeten t government procedures, weakness of the government and its policies, and red tape (Tarling 2006). Still, the country has the legal structure to successfully eliminate corruption. The 2007 Constitution includes requirements for public information access (Kara 2008). The right to access information is usually granted to citizens and the privilege is used without restraints unless it concerns