Building Collapse, Broken Trust: Public Perspectives on the Failure of Standards Control in Government Projects
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Abstract
This article examines the social and legal implications arising from the collapse of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) building during its construction—a pivotal event that marked a turning point in the relationship between the state and the public in terms of trust in the bureaucratic system. As the state is expected to serve as a model of safety, engineering standards, and public accountability, this incident is not merely an isolated accident but a structural reflection of the failure of governmental oversight mechanisms within Thailand’s bureaucratic system.The analysis reveals several key issues: first, the public’s expectation that the state should set standards higher than those of the private sector, contrasted with its failure to uphold those very standards in practice; second, the flaws in the oversight system, particularly the lack of separation between regulators and those being regulated, and the absence of independent evaluation mechanisms; third, the widespread expression of public distrust toward the state as seen through social media and public discourse; fourth, the damage to the state’s image and unresolved questions about accountability and responsibility; and fifth, policy recommendations such as the establishment of independent inspection bodies, greater civic participation, and the use of real-time information disclosure technologies. If the state continues to maintain a centralized, opaque oversight structure and resists external scrutiny, the erosion of public trust will evolve into a structural problem for democratic governance in the long term. Reform must therefore aim to create a system that is transparent, accountable, and truly responsive to the people.
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