Anand: Govt's hidden conflict of interests
Thai corporate governance best in region but current govt serving only a few & operates in hidden, non-transparent way.
Thai corporate governance best in region but current govt serving only a few & operates in hidden, non-transparent way.
Anand Panyarachun
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GOVERNMENT & BUSINESS
Anand: Govt's governance declining
13 Jun 2013
Online Reporters
Anand Panyarachun (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)
The administration's governance of the country has declined because certain things it does are serving only the interests of a few groups of people, former prime minister Anand Panyarachun said on Thursday.
Many people in this government do not admit that they have a conflict of interest and this causes inequality in Thai society and widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
"Differences between high-income and middle-income earners have also increased and this leads to more unrest in society," Mr Anand said at a seminar on "Thailand's Governance Challenge" on Thursday morning.
He said the government should be focusing on the needs of the general public, not just some groups or individuals, ensuring that each process is transparent, and ensuring a good governance assessment system.
Vorapol Socatiyanurak (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)
The auditors should be prominent political and social figures who have credibility and are trusted by society, he added.
His criticism came less than a day after the Thai Institute of Directors (IOD) said the country's top 50 listed firms had the best corporate governance in the region.
Vorapol Socatiyanurak, secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the latest Asean Corporate Governance (CG) Scorecard puts Thailand's average CG score at 67.66%, followed by Malaysia at 62% and Singapore at 56%.
"The reason Thailand has the higher score is because the top 50 listed firms in Asean have a high level of governance and are compliant with international standards. Twenty of them are Thai firms," Mr Vorapol said.
He said the SEC hoped that Thai listed firms will continue to achieve high CG standards, as they would then attract more foreign investors and funds to the country.
(Source: Bangkok Post, GOVERNMENT, Anand: Govt's governance declining, 13 Jun 2013, Online Reporters, link)
Governance Vocabulary
Anand Panyarachun - (born August 9, 1932) was Thailand's Prime Minister twice, between 1991–1992 and once again in 1992. He was effective in initiating economic and political reforms, one of which was the drafting of Thailand's "Peoples' Constitution", which was promulgated in 1997 and abrogated in 2006. Anand received a Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 1997. (See Wikipedia & website)
govern (verb) - supervise ปกครอง, วางระเบียบ, ควบคุม, บังคับ
governance (noun) - the way that a country, political unit, or company is managed and run วิธีการปกครอง (See Wikipedia)
global governance - โลกาภิบาล
good governance - ธรรมาภิบาล (See Wikipedia)
poor governance
corporation (noun) - public corporation, a large company or business organization (that exists legally independently from its owners or shareholders) บริษัทมหาชน (See Wikipedia)
corporate (adjective)
corporate governance - the way in which directors and managers control a company and make decisions, especially decisions that have an important effect on shareholders (See Wikipedia) บรรษัทภิบาล, การควบคุมการบริหารองค์การ, การกำกับดูแลกิจการ
auditors - accountants whose job is to check the accounting records of companies and organisations for accuracy ผู้ตรวจเงินแผ่นดิน, ผู้สอบบัญชี (See Wikipedia)
instability - being unstable, can change suddenly without notice, this makes it difficult to work with ความไม่มั่นคง, การไม่มีเสถียรภาพ
poor governance leads to instability
declining - worsening
governance declining
in decline - worsening
governance in decline
Anand Panyarachun says poor governance leading to instability
Anand: Govt's governance declining
the administration's - the current elected government that is governing the country
the administration's governance of the country has declined
interests - people who gain or lose depending on how events turn out business interests ( connections that you may benefit from, therefore affects your attitude to it and the way you deal with it)
vested interests - Same as "interests" above
conflict of interest - a situation in which there are two jobs, aims, roles, etc. and it is not possible for both of them to be treated equally and fairly at the same time ผลประโยชน์ทับซ้อน, ผลประโยชน์ขัดกัน
serving the interests of ... - doing things to help a group of people ...
serving only the interests of a few groups of people
The administration's governance of the country has declined because certain things it does are serving only the interests of a few groups of people, former prime minister Anand Panyarachun said on Thursday.
admit - to agree that something is true, especially when you are unhappy, sorry or surprised about it ยอมรับ
admit that ....
do not admit that ...
society - a group of people living together in an organized community with laws and traditions controlling the way they behave with each other สังคม
Thai society
inequality - ภาวะไม่เท่ากัน, ความแตกต่างกัน, ความไม่สมดุล
inequality in Thai society
gap - a large difference between people or groups ช่องว่าง
widen the gap - make the difference larger
widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
Many people in this government do not admit that they have a conflict of interest and this causes inequality in Thai society and widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
unrest - when people are not calm and at peace; angry and violent behaviour by people protesting against something สถานการณ์ที่ไม่สงบ, ความไม่สงบ, ความกระสับกระส่าย, ความทุรน
unrest in society
challenge - some goal that is difficult to achieve (that requires a lot of effort)
Thailand's Governance Challenge
"Differences between high-income and middle-income earners have also increased and this leads to more unrest in society," Mr Anand said at seminar on "Thailand's Governance Challenge" on Thursday morning.
general - including everything, not limited ทั่วไป
the general public
focusing on - concentrate on, look at one thing (not get distracted by others) มุ่งความคิดไปที่, มีสมาธิอยู่กับ, ให้ความสนใจกับ
focusing on the needs of the general public
individuals - persons บุคคล
the needs of some groups or individuals
process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
transparent - public can see what is happening (no hidden or secret parts); not keeping anything secret; open โปร่งใส
ensuring that each process is transparent
assessment - evaluation, considering and making a judgement about something การประเมิณสถานการณ์
ensuring a good governance assessment system
He said the government should be focusing on the needs of the general public, not just some groups or individuals, ensuring that each process is transparent, and ensuring a good governance assessment system
figures - people in important positions, VIPs
political and social figures
prominent - important and well known สำคัญ, มีชื่อเสียง, เด่น
prominent political and social figures
credibility - believability, when many people believe that what you say is true ความน่าเชื่อถือ,ความน่าไว้วางใจ
people who have credibility and are trusted by society
The auditors should be prominent political and social figures who have credibility and are trusted by society, he added.
His criticism came less than a day after the Thai Institute of Directors (IOD) said the country's top 50 listed firms had the best corporate governance in the region.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - the government agency that supervises the stock and bond markets (and makes sure that people are trading fairly and not cheating people)
Vorapol Socatiyanurak, secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the latest Asean Corporate Governance (CG) Scorecard puts Thailand's average CG score at 67.66%, followed by Malaysia at 62% and Singapore at 56%.
reason - an explanation of an event, why an event happened เหตุ ; เหตุผล ; สาเหตุ
the reason X has Y is because Z
international - ระหว่างประเทศ between countries
standards - an acceptable level of quality or achievement มาตรฐาน
international standards
compliant - following rules
compliant with international standards. Twenty of them are Thai firms.
The reason Thailand has the higher score is because the top 50 listed firms in Asean have a high level of governance and are compliant with international standards. Twenty of them are Thai firms.
attract - to cause someone to be interested in something ดึงดูดความสนใจ
attract more foreign investors
funds - money collected for a special purpose (for investment in companies or projects) เงินทุน
attract more funds to the country
He said the SEC hoped that Thai listed firms will continue to achieve high CG standards, as they would then attract more foreign investors and funds to the country.
