BANGKOK — Key political events in the first week of August include the launch of the government’s digital wallet project on August 1, followed by the court’s decision on whether to dissolve the Move Forward Party over its campaign to amend Section 112, which allegedly seeks to undermine the democratic system with the king as head of state.
The digital wallet project seems to be moving forward, while the fate of the Move Forward Party, to be decided on August 4, remains uncertain.
On July 31, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the draft supplementary budget for the 2024 financial year, amounting to 122 billion baht (approximately 3.4 billion US dollars), in the third reading with 292 votes in favor, 161 against, one abstention, and one vote invalid.
Chulphan Amornwiwat, Deputy Minister of Finance and Vice Chairman of the Supplementary Budget Committee, thanked MPs for their approval and confirmed that this budget will be a crucial tool to advance the government’s urgent measures to boost the economy, improve the quality of life and create jobs for the public and corporate sectors.
The Government has considered all comments, suggestions and concerns and will take them into account in improving processes and ensuring transparent and effective budget spending to achieve the best results.
The Department for Digital Economy and Society has reported that while monitoring social media it has identified suspicious activity related to online crime, such as the creation of Facebook groups or fan pages falsely purporting to provide information about the Digital Wallet project using anonymous accounts to evade scrutiny, the sharing and dissemination of fake news links related to the project and the posting of fraudulent messages offering help with project registration.
The government warns the public not to fall for scammers pretending to help with project registration. It emphasizes that those who have a smartphone and are interested in participating must register exclusively through the “Tang Rat” app and can call 1111 for information 24 hours a day.
Registration for the 10,000 baht in this project begins on 1 August at 8:00 a.m. and runs until 15 September 2024. The government recommends downloading the “Tang Rat” app directly from the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android.
For those who do not own a smartphone, the government has set up walk-in centers for information and registration at 1,722 digital community centers, 1,200 post offices (excluding private postal services), 1,047 branches of the State Savings Bank and 1,238 branches of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), a total of 5,207 service points nationwide.
While the project seems to be taking concrete steps, there is public expectation and skepticism about its feasibility and criticism from the opposition, which doubts the economic impact.
Sirikan Tansakul, Deputy Party Leader of the Move Forward Party who serves as shadow finance minister, argued in the recent meeting that the government should not take on more debt.
She argued that the country’s fiscal position is close to the limit and that despite the numerical manipulation of the national debt, interest payments cannot fool anyone. The budget for interest payments for 2023-2024 is already insufficient, and for 2026, the projected interest alone amounts to 370 billion baht, or 12 percent of government revenue, rising to nearly 500 billion baht by 2028.
“We don’t have to do anything else, because all the revenue and taxes we collect are used for interest payments. Including the capital, they will rise to 20 percent and bind us for the future,” she said.
Sirikan is expected to become the new party leader when the Move Forward Party is dissolved by the Constitutional Court and its executive members are barred from running for 10 years on August 7.
She said that she is ready to become the party leader if the party is dissolved, and she believes it would be a new dimension in politics for a woman to be a party leader alongside Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party.
Prior to the verdict, the Move Forward Party solicited public support by posting at least two “Citizen Verdict” clips on social media highlighting the party’s political work to transform the country. On 2 August, Chaitawat Tulathon, the party chairman, and Pita Limjaroenrat, the party chairman’s senior adviser, will make a final public statement on the case.
The Constitutional Court has also announced measures to maintain security and order around the court on August 7 from 00:01 to 23:59 and on August 14 when it will rule on the status of Srettha Thavisin as prime minister in relation to the appointment of Pichit Chuenban, whose qualifications are disputed.
Both cases add to the political tensions in Thailand. Nevertheless, there is no movement against the digital wallet project, unlike the fierce opposition to rice pledging and the 2 trillion baht infrastructure project during the Yingluck government, which culminated in the 2014 coup.
_________
Related articles:
