Thais urged to battle corruption

PHUKET TOWN: Thai people should be more aware of corruption, a workshop to promote ethics in the community was told today. “There should be regular corruption inspections and investigations,” Pongthep Thepkarnjana, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, told the 500 people who attended the day-long gathering at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. K. Pongthep, who is also Vice Chairman of the Committee to Support and Monitor Prevention and Suppression Activities, presided over the opening of the gathering, entitled “Ethics Promotion: Strengthening the Community for Corruption Prevention”. Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi said the next step of his Phuket administration would be “to put together a ‘watch dog’ of private citizens who will regularly inspect government institutions for corrupt practices.” He added, “The most important part of this project, however, is not to expose those who are corrupt, but rather to build a moral value system among Thai people and government officials that will benefit all Thai society.” As part of the national government’s campaign against illegal drugs, corruption and poverty, workshops are being held in Phuket, Chai Nat, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Narathiwat. Results in this pilot scheme will be evaluated and applied nationally. Today’s gathering included people from both the private and government sectors, as well as senior monks and the media. The slogan for the meeting was “Creating morality, praising good people and monitoring corruption”.