Give us the details

A two-day seminar on corruption within the civil service due to start today in Bangkok will provide the public with a rare glimpse into one of the country's worst and most enduring of social ills from the perspective of those who are very much part and parcel of the problem.

The seminar on corruption promises to be that most fascinating of things: an insight into the workings of government, and what it costs to grease the wheels, provided by those close enough to cause some real embarrassment. Unlike earlier events staged to discuss corruption within the civil service, this session promises to be some thing out of the ordinary, far more exciting, as all the participants, who will include architects, engineers and contractors, are no strangers to the corruption problem.

It would not be too far off the mark to suggest that many of these professionals have witnessed or have been involved themselves in the payment of bribes to a politician or government officer in return for his signature on the dotted line of some contract for a development project or other undertaking.

It is belated, but the decision by members of the Thai Contractors Association, Siam Architects Association, Engineering Association and Engineering Consultancy Association to open the Pandora's box and make public the corruption which is so rife in government life, a practice to which they have been party for many decades in some cases, is indeed cheering. It represents a small but significant step in the right direction in dealing with this debilitating disease.

-- The Bangkok Post