Wisuth Uses CPI Data to Challenge Yotchanan's Corruption-Income Link, Says Corruption Depends on Multiple Factors Beyond Income

Wisuth Tantinunt, a Pheu Thai party list MP, responded to Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Yotchanan Wongswadi's remarks made during a special forum at Chiang Mai University, where Yotchanan suggested that increasing Thai citizens' income would reduce corruption and that poverty should be the priority. Wisuth disagreed, arguing that Yotchanan's assumption contradicts research data and international comparisons used for trade and investment purposes.

Wisuth presented evidence showing that Thailand scored only 33 out of 100 points on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in 2024, the lowest since surveys began, ranking 116th out of 182 countries. This represents a continuous decline from Thailand's 59th place ranking in 1998. Notably, while Thailand's per capita income of approximately $7,000 annually exceeds competitors like Indonesia and Vietnam, both countries rank higher on the CPI (Vietnam at 107th, Indonesia at 111th).

Globally, Wisuth noted that over 20 countries with lower per capita incomes than Thailand have higher CPI scores, including Bhutan, Rwanda, Benin, Ghana, India, Mongolia, and Ethiopia. Additionally, data from the 2020 Global Corruption Barometer covering 17 Asian countries showed that 24 percent of Thai respondents admitted to paying bribes in the past 12 months, ranking Thailand 5th highest, ahead of countries with lower incomes like Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Nepal.

"These facts show that corruption doesn't depend solely on income but on other factors such as strong oversight mechanisms like developed nations have, reducing bureaucratic steps that enable corruption as seen in Vietnam and Indonesia," Wisuth stated. "Most importantly, it requires political commitment to view corruption as a priority problem requiring immediate action, equal to poverty issues, without making excuses to minimize its importance."