GIFT CHEQUES AND GIN MUANG Corrupti

GIFT CHEQUES AND GIN MUANG Corruption in Thai politics is nothing new. Corruption charges and corruption cases have been an intermittent feature of the Thai political scene for many years. In the recent past, there have been some spectacular revelations of political corruption, particularly in the aftermath of the fall of authoritarian leaders (Sarit Thanom-Praphat) But what is especially interesting about the Thai case since the late 1980s is the rapidly growing prominence of corruption as a political issue. In this chapter the issue of corruption is explored as a way to analyse the nature of Thai politics in its current stage. why has This involves asking two related questions. First, corruption become such a prominent issue at the present time?2 If one were to confront the question of corruption five years ago, it would have appeared as a feature of Thai politics in common with many other countries, but hardly as a political issue. Yet throughout 1988 and 1989, the parliament devoted a large part of its time to debating no-confidence motions brought on grounds of corruption. In 1991, the military junta cited corruption as a major justification for overthrowing the government by coup.3 Several of the pre-coup ministers were subsequently declared "unusually rich for having received improbable numbers of gift cheques from businessmen involved in government-awarded contracts and licences. Subsequently the military junta's branding of the pre-coup politicians as unusually rich' was declared