“ Corruption undermines democracy and leads to a vicious cycle. It erodes democratic institutions, and when these institutions are weak, they cannot effectively combat corruption. " Patricia Moreira, the Executive Director of TI (Transparency International), has stated.

         Corruption is a global issue that every country is concerned about and seeks to address to demonstrate transparency in government operations and to project a positive image that instills confidence in foreign investors regarding the government's effectiveness.

          According to Transparency International, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was ranked for over 180 countries in 2018. Terrabkk has provided a comparison of the 10 countries with the highest and lowest CPI scores.

Source: https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018

 

          From this data, if Terrabkk compares Thailand with the ASEAN 10 neighboring countries, it concludes that Thailand ranks 5th among the ASEAN 10 countries, sharing the same rank with Philippines with a CPI score of 36. The country with the highest transparency in the ASEAN 10 is Singapore, with a CPI score of 85, ranking 3rd globally. Meanwhile, the country with the lowest transparency in the ASEAN 10 is Cambodia, with a CPI score of 20, ranking 161st globally.

          From this information, we can see that Thailand's global transparency ranking is low, falling into the red zone. This indicates that transparency is an issue that both the government and related agencies, as well as the public, should pay attention to and work to improve, in order to create a positive image for Thailand on the global stage, foster a better society, and instill a sense of integrity in the younger generation, teaching them about the importance of transparency in governance. We will have to wait and see how Thailand ranks and what score it receives in 2019.