Pheu Thai's 10,000 baht ‘giveaway’ pledge labelled ‘illegal’
The Pheu Thai Party's pledge to give 10,000 baht to every Thai 16 years of age or older if it forms the next government is unworkable and illegal, Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former election commissioner who now leads the Thai Liberal Party's strategic team, said on Friday.
Somchai was responding to Pheu Thai candidate for prime minister Srettha Thavisin, who reiterated on Thursday that the party will transfer 10,000 baht into digital wallets for every Thai over 16 if it leads the next government.
“The great-grandfather of populism has emerged,” Somchai quipped on Facebook, likely referring to Thaksin Shinawatra whose Thai Rak Thai party swept to power in 2001 with a raft of populist policies. Phue Thai is Thai Rak Thai’s latest incarnation.
Pheu Thai has said the goals of the digital-transfer pledge include stimulating local economies, helping people overcome the economic suffering of the last several years, and nudging all Thais into the digital age. Srettha said the money transferred into digital wallets must be spent within six months in local communities.
Somchai estimates it will cost 500 billion baht to honour the campaign pledge as there are about 50 million Thais over 16 years of age.
If money from the government’s fiscal 2024 budget of 3.35 trillion baht is sent to 50 million digital wallets, every government agency will have to cut its budget by 14.9%, Somchai said.
By law the government cannot cut its fixed expenses, including officials’ salaries, so a Pheu Thai government would have to cut the budget allocated for investment, he added.
However, if it did this, only 5% of the entire budget for investment would be left, Somchai calculated, adding that this would violate the State Budget and Financial Discipline Act, which mandates that the government set aside at least 20% of the total budget for investment.
If the government borrows from banks to transfer 10,000 baht to every Thai over 16, it will be no different from what Prayut's administration has done, Somchai said. People will ask who is on the hook for repaying the loans and whether the public debt ceiling has been breached, he added.
The digital-wallet pledge may also violate Section 7 of the Election Act, which prohibits political parties from promising rewards to voters, Somchai said.
