Vietnamese people's tolerance for bribery and extortion is increasing.

-The tolerance level of many Vietnamese people for extortion and bribery is much greater than in previous years.

A 2015 survey result in the Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) Report makes us startled and worried. It is that “the level of tolerance for extortion and bribery of respondents nationwide is much greater than in previous years: those who are extorted will not report the act of demanding a bribe if the amount of money extorted is less than 24 million VND”. Only about 3% of those who are harassed and extorted report this behavior.

The habit of “giving money and taking money” has become too ingrained in the minds and actions of many Vietnamese people. For example, if a traffic safety violation is discovered by the traffic police, instead of letting the policeman write a fine, the violator begs, pleads, finds acquaintances to intervene… and can “slip” the policeman a sum of money a little less than the fine. This is quick, neat, and beneficial for both sides! Regardless of the fact that legal discipline is taken lightly.

Another issue that concerns many people is applying for admission for their children. Everyone complains about the negative aspects of admissions to the first grade. One reason is the extortion of those working in admissions, but it is also partly due to the parents. To make sure their children get into school, they just need to pay a few million or a few dozen million to feel secure.

Because of the price competition, the price of a place in school A this year will increase to another level next year. If you let your children take the entrance exam and interview equally, without bribery, there will be no negative things. Letting children take exams openly and transparently is also a factor that helps the quality of education develop.

But it's easy to say, but living in a society full of bribery, favors, and favors, who would be foolish enough not to do it and regret it later?

Many large corruption and embezzlement cases have been discovered and handled. However, the current painful reality is “petty corruption”. Petty but common, it makes people or anyone who goes to the “office” feel worried. Especially those in rural, mountainous, remote areas, they feel very scared and hesitant every time they have to do paperwork related to public agencies.

Even in Hanoi and other big cities, “bribing” officials with a few hundred thousand dong to “speed up and get” some paperwork is no longer a rare thing. The National Assembly and the Government are trying to find ways to reduce administrative procedures for the people while at the grassroots level, they are finding every loophole to harass the people. Former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung once exclaimed: “Our administrative procedures are very cruel and evil. Too many administrative procedures cause trouble for the people. What are so many procedures for? To get money to get things done, what else?”

And during their tenure, Hanoi Party Secretary Hoang Trung Hai and City Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung expressed their determination to reform administrative procedures and change the mindset that "Hanoi is not in a hurry" that has long made anyone working with the capital's public authorities shake their heads.

If in a society everyone wants to buy peace of mind and security with money instead of real ability, there will be no motivation for development. If money covers up all talent, there will be no truly talented people to work. That vicious cycle will inevitably drag down the development of society. It also makes anyone who comes to work at a public office feel anxious and afraid of being bothered and harassed without respect or comfort.

A vicious cycle that cannot be escaped if the current mechanism for recruiting civil servants and public employees still exists, relying mainly on “money and relationships”. This leads to the situation where once entering the public authority system, people try their best to “recover capital” and get rich. In fact, according to the survey results in PAPI, people nationwide believe that the situation of favoritism in recruiting human resources in the public sector is becoming more and more serious. The situation of extortion in the public sector is becoming more and more common while the determination to prevent and fight corruption of the government and people is becoming more and more limited.

In the first meeting, right after the Government was reorganized by the National Assembly, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized: “Our Government will not allow corruption, negativity, and harassment to spread throughout society. What we can completely do is our strength, which is the discipline of the law in administrative agencies and among the people.” With this determination, it is hoped that the “dark” spots in this year’s PAPI will gradually become brighter in next year’s report./.

According to VOV