“I think corruption has not lessened although Thailand’s ranking has improved [in international surveys],” Prem said while presiding over a seminar on the role of religion in fighting corruption.

The event was held by the National Legislative Assembly at Parliament.

He said religion could be used as a tool to fight corruption by stressing that it was a sin that must be avoided.

“We should teach young people that cheating is shameful,” Prem said.

The former prime minister said Thais should help remove the label that the country was full of corrupt people.

“For me, the worst problem for a country is that there are people who cheat their own country. This is very shameful,” Prem said.

He called for corruption cases to be expedited.