Petty corruption, like tainted food, harms the entire country.

Associate Professor Dr. Dang Ngoc Dinh: Corruption, like contaminated food, is now insidiously harming the entire country, preventing us from progressing.

Associate Professor Dr. Dang Ngoc Dinh, Director of the Center for Community Support Development Research (the agency that conducts the annual PAPI Index research), believes that corruption, like contaminated food, is now insidiously harming the entire country, preventing us from progressing.

Mr. Dinh said: Corruption, especially petty corruption, is negatively impacting morality in society, is widespread, and has become a bad "habit" in Vietnam. However, people are still complacent and indifferent to its presence because it doesn't cause immediate harm.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Ngoc Dinh

Hindering development

PV:Sir, what is the current level of corruption in Vietnam compared to other countries in the world?

The world has now developed a set of metrics to measure perceptions of corruption. Annual assessments are conducted in all countries, showing that no country achieves a perfect score, meaning it is completely free of corruption. However, no country receives a score of 0, meaning it is completely corrupt and widespread.

However, we shouldn't rely on the argument that "corruption exists in every country" to justify corruption in Vietnam. Other countries also have corruption, but their scores are 8-9 points, while ours is only 3 points, making comparisons impossible. Some Nordic countries like Norway and Denmark consistently rank highly, around 9.8/10 points, while Vietnam hovers around 3/10 points globally. Low scores often indicate major corruption cases, while high scores might suggest large-scale corruption but rarely involve petty or widespread corruption.

PV:Which is more harmful to the country, petty corruption or large-scale corruption, sir?

If it directly impacts and causes economic instability, public debt, etc., then major cases are very dangerous. However, in terms of social development, petty corruption is currently hindering modern public administration. According to many experts, the failure to control and prevent petty corruption will prevent our country from escaping the middle-income trap.

PVAre the tools the state is currently using to prevent and curb corruption strong and comprehensive enough, sir?

Currently, there are tools for "preventing" and tools for "combating" corruption. Our current tools for punishing corruption are very good, but if we don't change a fundamental principle or a method of operation, creating a society filled with fear will stifle creativity and prevent the creation of wealth. After all, how can we possibly control all acts of corruption?

The solution lies in changing the principles of governance, or in other words, building an effective and comprehensive system of tools to "prevent" corruption. This means creating a society and a state management apparatus capable of preventing corruption. It's like the saying, "If you try to kill a mouse, you'll break the vase," but more importantly, you need to create a house without mice. That means you have to bait, trap, and seal all the holes to prevent them from entering…

Combating corruption and negative practices can involve the police force, but prevention requires the participation of the entire society. Effective prevention requires reform of economic and social institutions, not just the enactment of laws.

Preventing entry into the civil service is solely for the purpose of enrichment.

PVHow do you assess the situation where many leaders of state agencies, before retiring, have signed numerous decisions appointing and transferring officials within their sectors? Is there a problem of corruption involved?

In my opinion, the most pressing issue today is the exploitation of personal connections or the use of money to secure civil service positions for one's children and grandchildren. This is inadvertently creating a corrupt system of public administration. In other words, we are using resources to create civil servants in an unhealthy way, and these civil servants will in turn exert an unhealthy influence.

Returning to the reporter's question, from an analytical standpoint, this phenomenon is not surprising because, to put it simply, if you invest, you have to reap the rewards, and if you have power, you have to use it to its fullest. However, from a social perspective, there are two points. Firstly, public opinion will consider that person unethical. They are already quite well-off, owning houses and land, yet they still do such things – that's unacceptable. Legally, they have the right to do so; in court, they still have sufficient grounds: this belongs to the daughter-in-law, this belongs to the granddaughter, this belongs to the grandson, and they have followed all the proper procedures according to regulations…

PVThere is a view that using ethical standards in public service can help reduce petty corruption.

If we want to reduce this phenomenon, we shouldn't just appeal to morality alone, because even then, only a few people will feel embarrassed or ashamed; it will be very difficult for the rest. Therefore, we must return to the core issue: building a governance system that does not breed such behavior.

A Danish expert who visited Vietnam said that joining the civil service in Vietnam is motivated by the desire to get rich, not just by dedication and a wish to contribute to society.

In many countries, civil servants are not allowed to engage in business because it could lead to "automatic" favoritism. The majority of people today believe that becoming a civil servant is not only about political power but also about financial gain.

PVWhat are your expectations regarding the ability to control and limit corruption during this new term?

The advantage of a new term is that newcomers always have to be observant; they aren't complacent with the old ways. It's like a football team; they have to change the coach if they don't meet fan expectations. But simply changing the coach doesn't guarantee an immediate improvement in ranking. Changes must come from the very essence of the team, its philosophy – that is, building from the ground up.

With the majority of this cabinet being young leaders, they possess better knowledge and are more responsive. Furthermore, times have changed, moving towards a new administrative system where officials are no longer above the people. Officials now stand in the middle, providing services to the people; the people are now customers, and deserve respect.

PVThank you, sir.

According to Tien Phong