One of the main problems bedeviling social and economic development in Southeast Asia has been the persistent and pervasive role of corruption. In many countries, the lack of a transparent government throughout history, the presence of absolutist power structures and the very low level of pay given to officials have all produced conditions in which corruption and bribe-taking are endemic. People believe that they can cut corners if money is offered and so they offer money. Circumstances in which such bribes might occur include having a planning application placed on top of a pile, asking a police officer to ignore a traffic offence or getting a seat for a child in a competitive school. There are times when the giving or taking of a bribe approaches the state of being a victimless crime but, more likely, there will be others who miss out directly as a result of corruption. If one child is parachuted into a school place, then another without access to that money will have to find another, perhaps less desirable place. From the perspective of economics, corruption is problematic because it leads to the misapplication of resources – that is, using resources (principally money) in an inefficient way. From the social perspective, it means the loss of opportunity to people and the stifling of hope and the potential of people, especially young people. It may be a fact of life in so many different countries but it nevertheless has serious negative impacts upon society and the people in society.

Vietnam has suffered from corruption as much as any other country. The mandarin class of society throughout history was able to use remoteness from centres of power to extort extra fees from the working classes. Generally, this was tolerated since, as long as public order was maintained and the rulers safe to sleep in their beds, they were quite content to reduce the cost of bureaucracy by allowing mandarins to help fund themselves. As the country has begun to move from a state-controlled economic system to one based, more or less, on free market capitalism, the opportunities for corruption have if anything increased. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that a certain type of person has spotted new opportunities emerging from the changing market conditions. One notable example has been that of gambling. Vietnamese, like so many other Asian people, are very partial to gambling and enjoy spicing their sports-watching habits with a bet or two on the side. This has unfortunately led to dozens of young footballers having received money to play badly or in some way that gave an advantage to organizers of the illegal betting rings. Perhaps the important thing is not to deplore human nature – after all, a footballer’s career can be very brief and tenuous and the young Vietnamese players are paid very little – it is the seriousness with which the issue has been treated by the authorities. The players have not just been banned or fined but have, in many cases, received substantial jail sentences. Referees too have been found to be part of the problem, with a number of officials having been found to be guilty of fixing the results of matches.

An Anti-Corruption Drive was launched earlier this year by the National Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control. This government-organised effort is supported by international donor government agencies, which lends further credence to the seriousness with which it is being taken. Of course, it would be better for purposes of scrutiny if independent civil institutions and even a political opposition were available, but this would not be possible under the present ideology. Government officials have been dismissed and the state-owned Petro-Vietnam has also lost leading executives, even before the current drive. There is little doubt that the government means to take this seriously and it is also clear why this should be. The prevalence of corruption in domestic and international affairs had started to prove itself an irritant and more, it had started to tarnish the legitimacy of the ruling regime. Should that happen, then there would be real calls for political change and, at a moment when Vietnam is starting to outstrip Thailand in economic development and attracting new investment, would be a real problem.

References and Further Reading

EIU ViewsWire, “Vietnam Politics: Anti-Corruption Drive” (January 23^rd, 2007).