Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0368/03681.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 33KB | 511 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03681}
$Pretitle{253}
$Title{Thailand
Chapter 4B.   Civil Service}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Rinn-Sup Shinn}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{party
thai
percent
army
political
military
government
bangkok
commander
prem}
$Date{1987}
$Log{}
Country:     Thailand
Book:        Thailand, A Country Study
Author:      Rinn-Sup Shinn
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1987

Chapter 4B.   Civil Service

     A civil service career continued in 1987 to be widely regarded as a
desirable route to financial security, social status, and power. As a result,
despite the universal complaint about the inadequacy of government salaries,
and despite many well-paid jobs becoming available in the commercial and
industrial sectors, the civil service continued to attract many of the most
promising young men and women.

     Personnel administration was in theory centralized under the Civil
Service Commission, which reported to the prime minister. In actuality the
commission's functions were limited to standardization, general guidance,
coordination, and record keeping. Recruitment, assignment, promotion, and
discipline were handled by each ministry and other public entities. After 1975
government service was divided into eleven position classifications. The top
five grades (seven through eleven) were "special grade officers"--the elite of
the civilian wing of the bureaucracy. Entry level for college graduates was
grade two, and, for those with master's degrees, grade three. Ordinarily, the
district officer was either grade five or six, and the district section head
was grade three. The provincial governor, deputy governors, and assistant
governors were special grade officials, as were mid- to top-level managerial
officers of the central ministries. Provincial section chiefs were grade four.

     An informative study by Thai political scientist Likhit Dhiravegin
revealed that as of 1977 the Ministry of Interior had the largest bloc of
special and first grade officials (29 percent and 26 percent, respectively)
because of its role as the backbone of the country's far-flung administrative
system. This study indicated that the administrative service continued to be
elitist, dominated by families of government officials and businessmen. In
1977, although these families accounted for only 10 percent (1 percent and 9
percent, respectively) of the national population, they claimed 41 percent and
33 percent, respectively, of the special grade category and 31 percent and 27
percent, respectively, of the first grade category. This meant that these
families produced a combined total of 74 percent of the special grade officers
and 58 percent of the first grade functionaries.

     Geographically, a strong bias favored the Center (including Bangkok),
which had 32 percent of the total population but had 68 percent and 63
percent, respectively, of the special and first grade officers assigned there;
Bangkok alone had 39 percent and 33 percent of these two categories. In terms
of male-female ratio, of the special grade and first grade officers, only 11
percent and 23 percent, respectively, were women. Many of the female officers
were in the ministries of university affairs, education, and public health.
Likhit pointed out that, insignificant as it might seem, the number of women
in managerial positions was impressively high when compared with other Asian
countries.

     In terms of education, about 93 percent and 77 percent of the civil
servants in the special and first grade categories, respectively, had college
educations, which compared favorably with other Asian countries such as Japan,
the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Singapore, and Burma. The Likhit study
also showed that 33 percent and 20 percent of the elite categories had foreign
training, the United States accounting for 71 percent and 78 percent and
Britain for 11 percent and 9 percent. The British-United States connection was
attributable to Thailand's close relationship with Britain before World War II
and with the United States since that time.

     According to the Likhit study, foreign influence was least evident in the
ministries of interior, justice, and public health--ministries that had the
largest number of locally trained civil service officials at the elite level.
Most of the locally trained senior judges, public prosecutors, lawyers,
district officers, and provincial governors were graduates of Thammasat
University. In the 1980s, several other Thai universities were expected to
have an increased share of graduates applying for government service.

     Civil service promotion was based on merit, but many observers believed
that favoritism was an important factor in career advancement. A civil servant
normally retired at age sixty. In 1980, however, the law was changed to permit
extension of tenure up to age sixty-five in cases of extreme necessity for the
benefit of the country.

The Media

     In the mid-1980s, the media played an important role as the principal
source of domestic and foreign news and, to a lesser degree, as a source of
public entertainment. All major daily newspapers were privately owned, but
radio and television stations were controlled by the government and operated
as commercial enterprises. Newspapers were generally regarded as more credible
than the government-controlled broadcast media.

     Mass media were under the broad supervision of the Public Relations
Department in the Office of the Prime Minister. This department served as the
principal source of news and information about the government and its
policies. It issued daily news bulletins on domestic and foreign affairs for
use by the print and electronic media. News bulletins were also issued by
other government agencies, including the Thai News Agency, established in 1976
under the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand, a state enterprise
under the Office of the Prime Minister. The Thai News Agency concentrated
mostly on domestic affairs; foreign news was gathered from international wire
services, which maintained offices or representatives in Bangkok.

     The Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, which may not be curbed
except by law "for the purpose of maintaining the security of state or
safeguarding the liberties, dignity or reputation of other persons or
maintaining public order or good morals or preventing deterioration of the
mind or health of the public." Most observers agreed that the Thai press
enjoyed considerable freedom. Nevertheless, in the 1980s editorial writers and
reporters continued to exercise self-censorship, mindful that there were
unwritten but real government constraints, especially on coverage relating to
the monarchy, government affairs, internal security matters, and Thailand's
international image. The existing statutes gave broad powers to the director
general of the Thailand National Police Department, including the authority to
revoke or suspend the license of an offending publication. The severity of
penalties varied, depending on the political climate and the sensitivity of an
issue. In 1987 a new press bill was pending before the National Assembly, the
intent of which was to give the press as much autonomy as possible except in
time of war or in a state of emergency, in which case the press officer would
be allowed to exercise censorship.

     Daily newspapers were concentrated heavily in Bangkok, where at least 65
percent of the adults read a daily paper, compared with about 10 percent in
rural areas. Newspapers were generally independent, and many were financially
solvent, deriving their income from sales and advertising. The government was
forbidden by law to subsidize private newspapers. Foreign ownership of
newspapers was also banned as a safeguard against undue foreign or subversive
influence.

     In the 1980s, Thai journalistic standards improved steadily, as reflected
in the print media's growing emphasis on political and economic issues, as
well as on major foreign news