Success Now Comes With A Degree In Degeneracy

[Flashermac]

by Songkran Grachangnetara

 

 

Thailand is not a failed state by any stretch of the imagination because the primary institutions of the state - such as the military, the legislature, and the executive and judicial branches of government - seem to be, on the surface, functioning well enough.

 

But underneath this thin coat of varnish we're actually witnessing a country in a state of decay and on our way to becoming, in my view, a "failed society".

 

Thailand, if we're not careful, might be reaching a tipping point where the terms "public service" or "law enforcement" are rapidly becoming oxymorons.

 

I have talked to many recent graduates from all walks of life and I keep hearing the same thing. These capable, hard-working young Thais don't want to risk dedicating their careers to public service because they can see the whole system is based on nepotism, where the biggest degenerates with the shadiest contacts make it to the very top.

 

Our society has, in effect, done away with meritocracy and replaced it with a distorted Darwinian order where rather than "survival of the fittest", it has become "survival of the thickest".

 

Which conveniently brings me to the topic of education, or in our case the lack of thereof. The 2012 report from Pearson, the world's leading education company, gives us an idea of how far behind we are and how our children are being let down by the sheer incompetence and shortsightedness of our leaders.

 

If this administration is willing to spend 2 trillion baht on what they call "megaprojects", why not invest some money - and more importantly some political capital - in overhauling our moribund education system so our children don't end up "mega stupid" in comparison with our neighbouring countries.

 

Pearson's "The Learning Curve" report claims Finland and South Korea top their new index of national school systems, while perennial high performers include Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Thailand is way down the charts at No.37, just above Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia.

 

The most interesting part within the Learning Curve Report is the Policy Lessons, which states: "Finland and South Korea emerge as the clear education superpowers from the Global Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment. In some ways, it is hard to imagine two more different systems: the latter is frequently characterised as test-driven and rigid, with students putting in extraordinary work time; the Finnish system is much more relaxed and flexible. Closer examination, though, shows that both countries develop high-quality teachers, value accountability and have a moral mission that underlies education effort."

 

In comparison, our system is bereft of quality teachers, devoid of accountability and lacks any apparent sense of moral mission. We're going to need political will of biblical proportions if Thailand is going to dig itself out of this massive hole and effectively prepare for some serious competition coming from countries we once scoffed at, such as Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

 

The Royal Thai Police, to many domestic and foreign observers, have become nothing more than a legalised extortion racket, raping and pillaging the poor and defenceless. The dirty-laundry list of police scandals is staggering.

 

The recent cases of police officers extorting tea money from tourists in Krabi, rigging entrance examinations for new recruits and high-ranking officers embroiling themselves with the despicable act of trafficking Rohingya migrants are nothing short of disgraceful.

 

These incidents call into question the very culture and integrity of the Thai police force and demand a response befitting the lack of confidence we all have in law enforcement in this country.

 

It's no longer sensible to expect the police to reform themselves. In my view a full, independent public judicial inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the Thai police - similar to the UK's Leveson Inquiry of the British press _ is desperately required.

 

I apologise profusely for offending the few hard-working, underpaid and dedicated officers whose careers have suffered from nepotism and corruption, but it has become so obvious that in order to have a successful career in law enforcement, it's now a requirement to be a crook, rather than be good at catching one.

 

That's probably why I'm not going to vote for either of the two policemen who have declared their candidacy for the governor of Bangkok.

 

It doesn't come as a shock to me at all that capable and honest Thais are also turned off by the idea of running for elected office, because there are essentially three types of people in parliament:

 

1) Moneyed elites looking for a short cut to self-aggrandisement by entering politics in what amounts to a four-year, taxpayer-subsidised ego trip.

 

2) Wily business tycoons using politics as an efficient way to feather their own nests through collusion and nepotism.

 

3) A combination of the above.

 

We have an army general who instigated the last coup d'etat chairing a parliamentary committee for national reconciliation and a deputy commerce minister who advocated the burning of Bangkok during the 2010 red-shirt protests as members of our legislature. As long as this is the case, we can be sure many suspects police ought to be looking for are not behind bars, but sitting at the bar, joyfully sipping a stiff cocktail and toasting gleefully to the gullibility and naivete of the general public.

 

 

http://www.bangkokpo...e-in-degeneracy