Thai business community speaks out against government agencies over unsustainable bribes

The private sector’s main body has accused 10 public agencies of extortionist practices against businesses and ordinary Thais. The growing importance of foreign investment in the country's southern tourist resort areas may have played a role, but the corruption system has long been considered structural and involves bureaucracy, law enforcement, and politics.

Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Extensive corruption in large sectors of Thailand's public administration has long been a reality for Thais, who have had to adapt to a system perceived as inevitable, seeking to take advantage from it while suffering its negative effects.

However, the economic and social crisis the country is experiencing seems to have pushed this model beyond the threshold of tolerability, with the business community publicly taking a stand against it.

The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB), the main representative body of Thailand's private sector, recently openly denounced the situation, pointing the finger at 10 government agencies accused of extortionist practices against ordinary Thais and businesses.

According to the JSCCIB, numerous companies have been forced to pay bribes to public officials to obtain documents, authorisations, and permits essential to their operations.

For Thailand’s business community, this is an unprecedented move, sparking intense public debate and potentially opening up previously unimaginable scenarios.

For now, the accusations are primarily directed at the bureaucracy and regulatory bodies, but several observers wonder whether the finger will soon be pointed at the political sphere, where demands for money, favours, and concessions are said to be even greater and often impossible to avoid.

According to many analysts, Thailand's kickback system is not an ad hoc aberration, but a structural mechanism involving multiple levels in the public administration, including institutions that are supposed to uphold the law and implement justice.

The decision by the business sector to speak up publicly may also be linked to the growing influx of foreign investment into major tourist areas in the south of the country, such as Koh Phangan, Phuket, and Surat Thani.

In recent months, Thai media have reported on an almost daily basis allegations about abuses, shell companies, and front-person schemes used to circumvent restrictions on foreign ownership.

Part of the debate also reflects cultural mistrust of foreign economic presence in Thailand.

However, according to many commentators, the main problem concerns the complicity or lack of oversight by local authorities responsible for approving licenses, monitoring economic activities, and ensuring compliance.

In an editorial published by the Bangkok Post, journalist and analyst Veera Prateepchaikul wonders whether the case has exploded now, “because the officials have become increasingly greedy and demanding more bribes that businesspeople now feel they can no longer take it any more, have lost their patience and announced enough is enough”.

Veera himself notes that any attempt to seriously address the phenomenon risks appearing insufficient without the direct involvement of the most influential local agencies, "among them immigration, police, revenue, land and commerce officials," whose role in practices related to shell companies and corruption remains central.

The private sector's initiative could also force politicians to take a more decisive stance, in a context in which public opinion is growing intolerant towards practices that had been virtually “necessary” for years.

Such a system, according to critics, is not based on merit but on networks of loyalty and mutual dependence, where those who obtain power or positions must then reward their superiors. This system contributes to keeping large segments of the population in a condition of subordination and precariousness, lacking effective tools to oppose abuse or assert their rights.

• thailand
• corruption
• business community
• complaint
• criticism
• foreign investment
• tourist sector