Chamber of Commerce President Says Anutin Tackles Corruption, Discusses with Permanent Secretary; Survey Results Due May 22
Chamber of Commerce President Pokin Aramwattananont praised the government's swift establishment of an anti-corruption committee and confirmed that a comprehensive corruption survey using World Bank standards will be submitted by May 22, ta
At 10:35 a.m. on May 20, 2025, at Government House, Pokin Aramwattananont, president of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, spoke following an integrated public-private sector cooperation meeting on elevating corruption prevention and suppression efforts. He thanked the Prime Minister and government for establishing the Anti-Corruption Coordination Committee (ACCC) to investigate corruption allegations, calling it swift action. Following the private sector committee's (PSC) collaboration with academic institutions including Thammasat University, the Thai Chamber of Commerce, TIJ, and the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) to compile academic data and facts, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the government's serious commitment to combating corruption through public-private cooperation.
When asked about providing data that could be used against agencies, Pokin questioned "Who would be prosecuted?" He explained that discussions with the Permanent Secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry clarified that all survey questionnaires align with World Bank and OECD standards, assessing whether corruption exists rather than targeting individuals. The data aims to reveal problems and past corruption issues, moving the country forward.
When asked if such surveys would be repeated, Pokin stated there's no need since the government has established committees—the focus now is joint problem-solving to free Thailand from corruption, a national and societal issue requiring new values if the problem continues.
Thanaworn Polvichay, rector of Thammasat University and chair of the Economic and Business Forecasting Center, clarified that the PSC had scheduled to submit survey procedure information to the Pollution Control Department by May 22. He emphasized the survey uses broad methodology aligned with the Office of the Civil Service Commission and World Bank, designed to identify structural gaps rather than pinpoint specific agency errors. Future cooperation with various agencies will involve deeper investigations into which departments have procedural failures.
