“The patronage system causes damage in various dimensions. For example, it discourages many talented people from working in the government sector,” Admiral Saksit Cherdboonmuang said yesterday in his capacity as chair of the National Legislative Assembly’s (NLA) ad-hoc committee on how to fight the deeply-entrenched patronage system.

His committee has recently compiled a 367-page report with detailed proposals on how to end the domination of the patronage system in Thailand’s bureaucracy.

The report says the patronage system encourages nepotism and may even lead to corruption.

Saksit said that when it came to the delivery of government services, people who noticed the patronage culture within the bureaucracy would even adopt bad value.

“They will think they just can’t go through normal channels of service delivery. They will think they need to find personal connections to get good services,” he said.

Plug legal loopholes

He lamented that patronage had long been a part of the bureaucracy, pushing civil servants to prioritise personal relationships over a merit-based system.

“It encourages junior officials to kow-tow to senior officials, who in turn bow to political-office holders so as to maintain beneficial relationships. In this cycle, businesspeople have also lobbied government officials and political-office holders.”

Saksit said his committee had compiled guidelines on how to stop the patronage culture from damaging the bureaucracy.

“We can achieve this goal by promoting the right value, improving laws, overhauling the bureaucracy and engaging the civil sector in our efforts,” he said.

The report recommends updating laws and plugging legal loopholes and advises government agencies to ban free gifts, feasts, and bribes. Government officials are advised to avoid playing golf with people who may pose a conflict of interest.

Proposed measures suggest that retirees refrain from serving as an adviser to a firm that has had contacts with their previous agency for at least two years after retirement.

The report adds that senior officials should reduce the number of assistants, because close work relations can also foster patronage feelings.

The report also stresses that legal processes should move fast to ensure justice when complaints of nepotism, abuse of authority or corruption arise.

Klanarong Chanthick, an NLA member, added that social pressure would be a powerful means to discourage wrongdoing. “So, it is important we inculcate the right values and attitudes among people,” he said.

The video clips of a six-wheel truck, whose driver was allegedly under the influence of crystal methamphetamine, crashing into dozens of vehicles in the busy areas of Rajaprarop and Ekkamai at midday on Wednesday went viral and became the talk of the town.

Within three days, the video clip shared by Petch J Twezinn got over 1.3 million views. It was taken with his dashboard camera recorder seeing the truck coming from the opposite direction and crashing into vehicles on the way. Some drivers left their cars before being hit by the truck. Other Internet users later shared their videos.

Angrisa Kanchotinon wrote: “The [truck’s] insurance covers only Bt600,000 maximum damage, so those who have first class insurance are taken care of; their insurance companies will deal with it. What about those who did not have any insurance and must bear the cost of repairs on their own? We don’t even know yet whether their cars will be the same… How unlucky that their cars were hit.”

Nattanon Thamkaeo: “What bad luck that so many people were affected by an evil person.”

A video clip of Narong Art Rongmuang showed an incident in Ayutthaya when a pickup truck lost control and jumped across the road in the opposite direction before crashing into a building on the roadside as it tried to avoid crashing into a motorcycle that was changing lanes.

With more than 806,000 views in just a few days, online users discussed what went wrong, who was to blame. Many agreed that both vehicles were coming at high speed.

Thaweesak wrote: “Wouldn’t it be reasonable to limit vehicle speed in the city or crowded areas to 50kph no matter how many traffic lanes are there? It is about the risks that might be caused to your vehicle, other vehicles, pedestrians crossing the road? … And dashboard cameras are mandatory for all vehicles. Otherwise, you might be the only one who has to take the blame [in case of an accident.]

Earlier, Krua Khun Ying Restaurant posted video clips from its closed-circuit camera showing a speeding orange-coloured car losing control and ploughing out of the road into a row of cars in the restaurant’s parking area. A taxi driver who was standing in the area was hit and severely injured.

Some netizens criticised the people in the clip as being mean for leaving the man lying on the ground without helping, while many others opined that the man must be assisted only by a knowledgeable and experienced medical team otherwise the helpers could unintentionally worsen the injuries.

Besides the incident, many commentators analysed the model of the car and its engine.

Vari Nana reacted, “Many times some people modify their cars and try it out on public roads. They had fun, but what about the results? If this car had not hit the electricity pole, what would have happened to the customers in the restaurant? I was near the front door at the time. What if I got hurt, what about my job and my family? Car racers, if you have money to modify your cars, please use your brain, not just your feet.”

Also, in less than a week, a five-minute video clip shared by a club of Rescue Team in Chiang Mai attracted over 745,000 views.

It was a collection, and part of clips from closed-circuit cameras in Chiang Mai municipality shared to warn people about safety concerns.

Ola Kanyarat commented: “[The drivers] barely slowed down at the junctions. Big vehicles did not slow down, motorcycles speeded up at the junctions. They violated the red light. Another group of drivers drove carefully. They have a good conscience. What are police/ traffic laws for? They could not bring the bad commuters to serve punishment. When will Chiang Mai be civilised? It is getting worse because of those who violate the red light, overtake other cars around the bend and those who change lanes or make a turn without giving signals. Everything starts at home. Be good examples to your kids.”

JapanPerspective on Facebook shared the experience of how Japan designed infrastructure and regulations for the convenience and safety of all commuters.

Meanwhile, Ohpa TV launched a video clip reminding people of traffic accidents calling on the people to remind all family and friends to be careful while travelling. Its tag line reads: “What would be a better gift than having our loved ones with us alive?”

Pol Maj-General Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek, acting national traffic police chief, said the system had been hacked on Wednesday evening in an unauthorised access to the database that manages Bangkok’s road traffic.

The system’s real-time data are used to update the traffic police website.

“We’ve worked with engineers from the private sector who supervise the Traffic Police Division’s computer system to tackle the shutdown of the section affected by the hackers. If motorists face problems with our website, they could opt for the call centre at 1197 to get traffic information,” he said.

The Facebook page for citizens opposing the single gateway for Internet connections in Thailand posted a message on hacking into the traffic-police system with the username and password of the system’s administrative staff. The group also suggested that it could alter the traffic database and closed-circuit TV monitors at various intersections.

Meanwhile, Pol Colonel Krisana Pattanacharern, deputy police spokesman, said security measures had been adopted to protect the bureau’s computer systems and websites after the anti-single-gateway group invited hackers to break into government computer systems after the passage of the new computer crime bill.

While some websites were compromised, he said, they have been restored to normalcy with no damage to databases or to personal and private information.

Krisana said police were tracking the whereabouts of those involved and had warned that wrongdoers would be brought to justice.

Meanwhile, the public-sector procurement system of the Comptroller-General’s Department was out of service temporarily yesterday after a cyber-attack, again blamed on the anti-single-gateway group.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreu-ngam said the Finance Ministry had stepped up its cybersecurity measures to ensure its systems are not hit by hackers.

Surachai Liangboonlertchai, vice president of the National Legislative Assembly, said opponents of the new bill might seek to amend the legislation at a later stage.

The bill is now ready for royal endorsement.

Thong Lor Police Station superintendent Pol Colonel Khajornpong Jitpakphum said the number of vehicles damaged had been raised to 41, as it was found that the truck crashed into 31 vehicles causing damage worth Bt2 million in the Thong Lor jurisdiction area as well as 10 other vehicles in the Makkasan precinct’s jurisdiction, causing damage worth Bt500,000.

The 27-year-old truck driver, Ekkaphot Yossiri, allegedly under the influence of crystal methamphetamine or “ice”, who was fleeing after crashing into a policeman’s motorcycle on Rajaprarop Road, went on to hit 10 other vehicles and then caused a pile-up of 31 vehicles in a 5-kilometre stretch of Sukhumvit Soi 63.

As his truck ran out of petrol at the entrance to the soi, he tried to escape on foot but was captured near the Ekamai Skytrain Station by some 20 people who had given chase.

As the insurance policy for the truck, which is owned by a private company, only covered a maximum of Bt600,000 in damage, Thong Lor police will call representatives of the insurance firm and the damaged persons in to discuss the issue, Khajornpong said.

The excess damages not covered by the original policy will either be included by the insurance firm or be filed at the Civil Court in lawsuits against Ekkaphot’s employer, he said.

The driver’s employer had not yet contacted police about compensation to the damaged persons, he added.

Khajornpong said Ekkaphot, who had confessed to charges including reckless driving, possessing illicit drugs, taking drugs and fleeing an accident scene without informing authorities, would be interrogated in detail by police before application to the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court for a detention order today.

The director of the Institute for Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) said the unfavourable report by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed areas where improvement was necessary and could be achieved.

In IPST’s latest report, an article titled “What the PISA scores are telling us?” said the scores of schoolchildren in Bangkok were actually similar to their peers in the United States, though youth in the rest of Thailand got low scores.

This indicates that the education model at Bangkok schools is successful, but it has not spread to other parts of Thailand. If this model can spread, the quality of students would certainly elevate, the article said.

Studies show that schools with economically and socially inferior students will also have inferior teachers and learning materials compared to schools with well-to-do students.

This unfair allocation of resources is key to educational inequity and has affected overall student achievement.

Citing success in countries such as Finland, the article said principals of schools with economic and social inferiority had as much or even more educational resources than schools with economic and social superiority.

To improve the quality of teachers, Thailand should learn from other countries. Education isn’t just about students, teachers and the curriculum, but also about the environment, society and culture, the article said.

The article also urged people to consider different aspects of teaching, including:

How other countries pay teachers in comparison to other professionals with the same qualifications? How are degree certificates or diplomas compared in job recruitment? Do parents want their children to become teachers? How much attention does the media and the public give to education? What does society put first; victory of athletes or victory of academic contestants? Do parents urge children to study hard?

If these questions get positive answers, then the overhaul of Thai education will not be too far, the article said.

The article also cited “bottom line findings” by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Pearson’s Education to offer five key lessons to policymakers:

 There are no magic bullets: Throwing money at schools rarely produces results and individual changes to education systems rarely do much on their own. Education requires long-term, coherent and focused system-wide attention to achieve improvement.

 Respect teachers: Good teachers are essential to high-quality education. Finding and retaining them is not necessarily a question of high pay. Instead, teachers need to be treated as the valuable professionals that they are, not as technicians in a huge, educational machine.

 Culture can be changed: The cultural assumptions and values surrounding an education system do more to support or undermine it. Using the positive elements of this culture and, where necessary, seeking to change the negative ones, are important to promoting successful outcomes.

 Parents are neither impediments to nor saviours of education: Parents want their children to have a good education; parents’ pressure for change should not be seen as a sign of hostility but as an indication of something possibly amiss in the provision. Parental input and choice do not constitute a panacea. Education systems should strive to keep parents informed and work with them.

 Educate for the future, not just the present: Education systems need to consider what skills today’s students will need in future and teach accordingly.

The article also concluded that Thai education could be as good as any other country, although such high-quality education only exists in Bangkok. Hence if it spread to the rest of the Thailand, it could result in higher academic achievement.

Recent PISA scores pointed out weak points in Thai education that must be improved, such as the quality of teachers, resources and educational equity/justice, while urging that many factors must be considered and adjusted to achieve excellence.

Authorities raided homes and offices in Pathum Thani province earlier this week looking for Wichai, 46, and Chaiwuth Wiwattana-areekul, 30, on charges of operating a money-lending business without permission and imposing illegally high interest rates.

Dusadee said the probe found that Wichai had travelled to Japan and he would be arrested when he returned to Thailand, while his computer website administrator, Chaiwuth, was on the run.

Also seized in the raids were 81 motorcycles linked to Wichai’s so-called “helmet gang” debt collectors, 26 cars and a number of safe boxes which authorities believe contain more evidence – such as land title deeds and loan contracts, he said.

Dusadee alleged that Wichai was a major moneylender with more than 60 franchise branches in the Central, Eastern and Southern regions of the country.

He alleged that Wichai charged people an interest rate of 20 per cent per month and he opened many companies in an attempt to cover up his illegal operation.

Wichai would give Bt500,000 seed money for a franchise dealer to lend money and collect repayments while he cashed in from profit margins, Dusadee alleged, adding that a dealer who missed a payment deadline would be harassed by the helmet gang.