Thailand - In-depth Country Analysis. A Political, Economic and Social Discourse

Text sample:
Chapter 1.b. Current Challenges:
Political corruption:
Thailand's growth has been stalled with massive levels of corruption. Indeed, extensive corruption in the country's political and bureaucratic machinery has been a serious issue for many years. At the institutional level, it has traditionally hindered prospective investments. According to Transparency International's 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures perceived levels of public sector corruption, Thailand ranked a dismal 78th out of 178 countries surveyed. Affirming this phenomenal is the World Bank's 2010 Worldwide Governance Indicators, which ranked the country in the 46.9 percentile for control of corruption.
The country also faces a history of scandals. In August 2008, 44 people were involved in the THB1.4billionn (US$42 million) rubber saplings procurement scam during Thaksin Shinawatra's administration. The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions subsequently charged them with alleged corrupted practices.
In 2009, the Customs Department was ranked the highest among all government agencies in terms of the number of complaints filed regarding corruption. Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government also wasn't free from corruption scandals during their administration. The government's then US$42 million stimulus package to combat recession was beset by procurement scams and corrupted deals due to patronage politics, leading to the resignation of two ministers. Accounting irregularities were discovered in the procurement of hospital equipments and school supplies and the award of construction tenders.
Most ridiculously, the chief of the Bhumjaithai Party, Chavarat Chanvirakul, was alleged to have auctioned provincial governor posts to the highest bidders, as well as indulging himself in real estate deals.
The Thai military, with a budget that has doubled since the 2006 coup, is also known to be a fertile ground for corruption and inflated

Dr. Tan Kwan Hong is professor for finance, economics, business, leadership and human resource management. Besides, he is lecturer, academic writer and corporate trainer, and has given talks on leadership, entrepreneurship, management skills, communication skills, persuasion, career management skills and personal peak performance.
He first graduated from the Singapore Management University with the Bachelor of Science (Economics) (With Distinction). Afterwards, he accomplished three Masters degrees, in particular, the Master of Science (Finance) (With Distinction) from Grenoble Ecole de Management, the Master of Science (Human Resource) (With Distinction) from Edinburgh Napier University, and the Master of Education (With High Distinction) from Monash University. He is also a Doctor of Philosophy.
To supplement his knowledge, he obtained three graduate diplomas, such as the Specialist Diploma in Business Analytics (With Merit) from Temasek Polytechnic, the Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (With High Distinction) and the Graduate Diploma in Training and Development (With High Distinction), both from Aventis School of Management in Singapore. He scored in the top grade category for all Masters and Graduate Diploma programs and was top student for several of these programs.
As an avid learner, Hong obtained more than 150 different certifications in business analytics, finance, human resource, project management and sports science. He is a Certified Business Analytics Specialist (CBAS), a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and a Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM).
As a national science champion in his youth, he received several scholarships, academic and university awards, national awards, public speaking awards and has a national-level strategy case competition championship title. He also represented his country in regional conferences on academic and policy issues.
Dr. Tan Kwan Hong's corporate experience includes strategy consulting,