1 week Ago
The earthquake's impact in Thailand has exposed profound failures in the nation's bureaucratic system, which proved dangerously inadequate in the face of the disaster. As citizens grapple with returning to their high-rise homes or workplaces, only to be repeatedly told to evacuate, more troubling questions emerge: What happened to the authorities in charge of public disaster management? Why were they unable to provide timely warnings and updates? Even now, the public still questions why the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department continues to rely on slow, paper-based procedures for urgent public safety communications, as seen in the news. And what logic justifies the continued use of Thai numerals in all state announcements, including emergency situations -- symbols less instantly recognisable not only to foreigners but also to many Thai citizens themselves? These failures illustrate more than administrative oversights -- they reflect a grossly inefficient bureaucracy resistant to modernisation and miserably out of step with public needs.
Instead of focusing on the immediate need to provide public services, the officials remain trapped in a blame game -- arguing who sent what to whom at what time -- and outdated protocols that prioritise procedures over people. Even more distressing is the Mandarin mindset that was exposed in the earthquake's aftermath. The collapse of the State Audit Office's under-construction building -- notably the only structure to be completely destroyed -- has forced the organisation tasked with auditing all state agencies into uncomfortable public scrutiny.
Not only has the contractor of the SAO's 2.1-billion-baht building come under investigation, but a list of seemingly extravagant furnishings prepared for the state auditor's new headquarters has also sparked an intense public backlash. These include a collection of 28 conference chairs made of beech wood and Italian leather, each priced at more than 90,000 baht, carpets and sofas exceeding 100,000 baht each, and 98 faucets costing over 8,000 baht apiece, complete with the same number of soap dispensers priced at 1,668 baht each.
Criticisms have also mounted on social media with claims made by public officials, mostly in small organisations or schools in rural areas, about how the SAO has failed to catch irregularities in major pork barrel projects while harshly penalising them for minor infractions such as missing receipts for petty purchases or document misspellings. The defensive mentality revealed in an auditor-general's internal memo, reportedly circulated within his organisation, only reaffirms the failure to take public feedback seriously. The letter bears no signature or name of those who wrote it.
Even though it is understandable that the circular was meant to urge the SAO's staff to stay united and refrain from responding to the "negative" and "unfair" criticism, the letter still shows how the state watchmen seem to place their own "dignity" and "dream of a new home" over the need to allow full transparency into all their operations. As authorities mend the damaged buildings and bring life into order after the quake, they must tend to the exposed cracks in our governance. Comprehensive bureaucratic reform is needed, which prioritises effectiveness over tradition, public safety over procedural comfort, and genuine accountability over self-interest.
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