Trust Crisis: Sarakadee Poll Shows 68% of Thais Lack Confidence in State Agencies, Urges Urgent Corruption Reform
A recent Sarakadee Institute poll found 68.7% of Thais lack confidence in state agencies, with corruption identified as the top urgent priority for reform, followed by security concerns over Cambodia-related issues and visa policies.
On May 8, 2025, the Sarakadee Institute released findings from a survey on "Public Opinion Regarding Urgent Policies on Public Sector Management, Security, and Confidence in Various Agencies," conducted between April 24-27. The key findings are as follows:
Regarding confidence in the role and performance of various agencies, 68.7% indicated they had no particular confidence in any specific organization. Among those selected, the Administrative Court received the highest rating at 8.2%, followed by the Constitutional Court at 8.1%.
When broken down by region, no single agency commanded exceptional confidence across all areas, except in the Northern Region where the Administrative Court led with 26.7%. Nearly three in four respondents indicated they had no clear confidence in any particular agency. While some areas showed higher trust in the judiciary compared to other named agencies, these proportions remain insufficient to reflect society's overall shared confidence.
Corruption has emerged as the top urgent priority, with over 60% of respondents wanting serious action taken before other reforms. Specifically, 60.7% prioritized tackling corruption, while 20.3% wanted accelerated civil service modernization and digitalization. Another 12% supported early retirement provisions for civil servants, and 7% had no opinion.
On security matters, respondents identified three urgent priorities: Cambodia-related issues, visa policies, and military draft reforms. Of these, 40.9% wanted the government to urgently review Cambodia-related agreements, 23.5% called for reviewing problematic foreign visa policies, 18.5% demanded military conscription reform, and 17.5% had no opinion.
This reflects public concern that national sovereignty and everyday security are being threatened by external factors hidden within open-door policies, such as grey-market networks. Citizens view security broadly—not merely as border or military issues, but as encompassing policies affecting safety, order, and fairness in society.
The poll demonstrates that citizens place high importance on state credibility in both internal management and public policy decisions affecting national interests. In public administration, corruption control is clearly identified as the top urgent priority. On security, citizens emphasize reviewing Cambodia-related matters and measures potentially affecting public safety and social order. Overall, a large portion of the public remains without specific confidence in any agency, suggesting the challenge extends beyond policy implementation to building concrete public trust.
