Not a day goes by that we don't read about corruption scandals in the newspapers. The most despicable are often the ones in which the victims are society's downtrodden.
Two leading news headlines from last week that caught my eye were "Official sacked over B88m theft from education fund'', followed by ''Two-thirds of welfare hubs 'plagued by graft'".
My first reaction to the reports was disgust. How can people stoop so low as to rob the poor? Does today's society even have a moral compass by which they live? I asked myself, perplexed.
Corruption at all levels is unacceptable; however, when it involves funds allotted for the betterment of society, such as education and the underprivileged, it takes a warped conscience to go ahead with such a criminal act.
It is customary in such cases for the masterminds to be senior officials, wielding enough power to manipulate, control and suppress subordinates, who eventually end up taking the blame for their bosses when law enforcement catches up with them.
One cannot help but question whether this is what is unfolding in the case of Rojana Sinthi, a senior planning and policy-analysis specialist attached to the Ministry of Education, who has reportedly confessed to the large-scale embezzlement of 88 million baht, involving an Education Ministry foundation aimed at supporting the education of girls from poor families.
She has been dismissed and her pension cancelled. This is said to be the most severe disciplinary punishment to date meted out against a state official.
The ministry in question has further determined that the sacked official had broken state regulations, committed dereliction of duty causing extensive damage to the state, and engaged in corruption. She has also been slapped with criminal charges of embezzlement, malfeasance, falsifying documents, falsely certifying documents and dereliction of duty.
One can obviously deduce from the scale of the fraud that Rojana did not act alone and had the support of people higher up the food chain. This brings to mind the proverb "Fish stinks first at the head", which certainly rings true here.
Bringing these individuals to justice will be an uphill task for investigators and a separate issue to discuss at a later time. For now, the blame seems to squarely fall on the middle-aged Rojana's shoulders.
One has to also be resigned to the fact that this is not the last time we will see an embezzlement of such a nature. These cases are ticking time bombs, and despite how well perpetrators cover their tracks, there is always incriminating evidence left behind at a crime scene.
On the same day, we read the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission report that roughly two-thirds of 76 welfare hubs for the underprivileged across the nation have been involved in irregularities in terms of spending.
The most heart-wrenching outcome of such self-centred behaviour by corrupt officials is that our nation's poor continue to grow poorer, while the rich get richer.
Rampant corruption, to the level that it is sometimes practised with little fear of repercussions, has been a massive predicament facing Thailand for years, which has yet to receive any proper attention.
Implementing stringent laws and educating the public about the perils of corruption is all good, but certainly not the ultimate solution. Could getting the public to realise the importance of a moral compass be the solution to Thailand's corruption scandals? It is definitely worth a try.
We also need the public to realise that we can no longer view corruption as normal practice. It is necessary that we also re-evaluate our attitudes, both about paying bribes to make our life easier and opting to look the other way when illegal practices happen under our nose.
Psychologists suggest that when faced with such a dilemma, it's best to return to teaching moral values, engaging in an active search for values that can guide the building of more conscious societies.
One psychologist even suggested that from his personal quest he found "three separate but interrelated values that together feel like they offer a strong grounding in guiding life and moral decisions. They are dignity, well-being and integrity".
But while both the concept of a moral compass and the definition of morality are simple and clear, they say the concept of what constitutes morality is not. One individual's moral compass may not point in the same direction as another's. This is where the instilling of right values by family and religion can help direct the individual down the right path. At least this is what I hope.
Yvonne Bohwongprasert is a features writer of the Life section of the Bangkok Post.
