The Kingdom is ranked 101st among the 176 countries surveyed in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2016, compared to 76th place in 2015.

Sansern said that for the 2015 ranking, the criteria did not include diversity of democracy, election and freedom, as is the case with the latest version.

He said the NACC would contact Transparency International to ask why such indices were also criteria in assessing the corruption situation.

The latest report by Transparency International showed that Thailand scored 35 and was ranked the 101st on the list for 2016 – a sharp drop from the previous year when the country scored 38 and was in the 76th spot.

The report said the decline in ranking partly resulted from the current repression, the lack of independent oversight, and the deterioration of rights, which weakened confidence in the |country.

Sansern conceded that the CPI ranking had impacts on the country’s image and investment, in addition to having made many people uncomfortable. So the NACC reviewed what had caused the drop and put it down to the new criteria, he said.