Parliament, Success! 139:38 votes, Senate approves 122 billion baht budget for digital wallets, Senators urge to distribute in cash, criticize! Policy aimed at election results, causing the country to fail, Chulphan denies government using digital wallets to aim for election results, insists it is a policy announced to parliament, accepts government needs to borrow to stimulate the economy, prepares to open registration for people without smartphones on 16 Sept., while shops will start signing up on 1 Oct.
Reporters reported that the Senate meeting voted by a majority of 139 votes to 38 votes to approve the draft bill on the additional annual budget for fiscal year 2024, with a budget of 122 billion baht, which Mr. Settha Thavisin, the Prime Minister, presented to the Senate. It was considered without setting up a committee, with 18 abstentions and 1 non-vote, after receiving approval from the House of Representatives in the third reading.
The Prime Minister stressed that the government urgently needs to s
timulate the economy through the 10,000-baht digital wallet project, along with maintaining the level of consumption and investment in the country urgently. It cannot wait for the 2025 budget, confirming that it is in accordance with the constitution, the Fiscal Discipline Act, the National Strategy, and the National Reform Plan, and a large amount of money will flow from the government sector to the private sector, resulting in purchases of goods and services. He emphasized that the government will use the people’s tax money efficiently, stimulate the economy, and allow money to flow to the people and the business sector, creating growth for the country, developing potential sustainably, and in accordance with the law.
During the Senate debate, two female senators who were former vendors debated almost in tears, questioning why the government did not distribute cash so that people could spend more conveniently. They also complained that vendors were rarely taken care of by the government, like farmers who h
ad to endure hardship to support their families. They also questioned why money was not distributed equally to everyone.
‘Fellow vendors, I would like to give you my hope and encouragement to become a senator so that vendors can sell their products better. However, becoming a senator this time is an opportunity to express the feelings of all vendors who are not well taken care of by the government. Farmers get 1,000 or 10,000 baht per rai, but vendors have to help themselves, sell to middlemen, and use their patience to earn a living. They work to take care of their families, which some people agree with. They want to get 10,000 baht, but they want it in cash. At first, the government said that everyone must get 10,000 baht, but there were many conditions. Some people who earn a living and have 500,000 baht in savings are disqualified. What did they do wrong to have savings? And why doesn’t everyone get money? People who work hard but earn a living are disqualified. Why don’t they make it equal? ??Why do the
y have to grade?’ Ms. Benchamat Aphaithong, a member of the Senate, debated.
‘I am very pleased and happy that the government will give 10,000 baht to Thai people, but I am worried about how they will spend it after receiving this money. Since it is digital money, I feel troubled because some families with 4-5 members, if they add up to 40,000-50,000 baht, they can’t use it to repair their house, buy buffaloes or cows. Why doesn’t the government give it out in cash so it’s easier to use?’ said Senator Daeng Kongma.
In this regard, Ms. Daeng’s debate caused Mr. Mongkol Surassajja, the president of the Senate, who was sitting on the throne, to take out his phone to record the image before taking out a piece of paper to wipe away tears for a long time. Even after Ms. Daeng finished her debate, she was still wiping away tears.
In addition, most senators are concerned that the government’s project will help capitalists, spoil the people’s habits by giving away money, and is also an advance election campaign by
the government, creating burdens that will damage the country.
‘Is this project increasing people’s debt? From going to the area, people are still skeptical about using digital money and how they will spend it. Why not pay in cash? So they are wondering whether it will really benefit them and whether it can really stimulate the economy or if it is just an advance campaign. They also think that opening the registration for people may be a way to make people happy and also stated that to register, people have to buy a new phone for 4,000 baht, which means 4,000 baht from 10,000 baht has already disappeared. They also expressed concern that the government’s handout of 10,000 baht will cause people to lose their habits,’ said Pol. Lt. Gen. Boonchan Nuansai, a member of the Senate.
‘This project is not an economic stimulus project, but a political-economic project that shoots through dimensions, hoping for results in the next election. Because if this policy is not successful, the Pheu Thai Party will definitely
not survive in the next election. Therefore, it is not an economic stimulus and will cause the whole country to fail. He also discussed that in the past, there were many government cash handout policies, but poverty was still the true friend of the people. Until there was the digital wallet project, people rushed to register because they were afraid of losing their rights. It was still complicated and did not give out cash. He also believed that money would continue to flow back to big investors and there would be more inequality. Even though the country’s GDP would increase, people’s poverty would not decrease. Even though the governor of the Bank of Thailand warned them, the government still did not listen and continued to move forward. However, the Senate must stop the government. He also noted that the reason why Mr. Phumtham Vejjayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, postponed the registration of shops was because no shops participated. Therefore, he did not approve this additional budg
et. The government should turn to support savings for people or the elderly. Even the good policies of the previous government, such as the savings promotion law, should be supported,’ said Dr. Premsak Piayura, a member of the Senate.
Before considering the additional budget bill, Mr. Nirutti Suttinon, a member of the Senate, proposed to the meeting to suspend the use of the Senate meeting regulations in Section 138 by not setting up a special committee to study the additional budget bill. However, Ms. Ratchanikan Thongthip, a member of the Senate, did not agree to suspend the establishment of the special committee because the budget is a large amount and is all borrowed money. Therefore, she asked the meeting to reconsider.
Mr. Kamol Rodklai, a member of the Senate, supported Mr. Nirutti’s proposal because he believed that setting up a special committee would take time, but the matter was urgent as proposed by the government. Therefore, suspending the use of the meeting regulations would allow the full Hou
se committee to be used and could be completed on schedule. However, the meeting could not reach a conclusion, so a vote was required. In the end, the meeting voted by a majority of 161 to 17 in favor of Mr. Nirutti’s proposal, which was to suspend the use of the Senate meeting regulations and not to establish an additional special committee to study the budget bill.
While Mr. Chulaphan Amornvivat, Deputy Minister of Finance, explained the observations and doubts of the senators by emphasizing that the government has confirmed that the budget is in accordance with the legal framework and fiscal discipline, and admitted that the government needs to borrow more debt to add money to the economic system and stimulate the economy to move forward with the project.
As for the observation on why the government does not pay in cash, Mr. Chulaphan explained that the mechanism set by the government is a new mechanism, different from the past, which gave out cash because it may cause people to save some and not spend,
which makes it impossible to stimulate the economy to the fullest. The government wants the money to be distributed appropriately, not concentrated in the city, and to be able to stimulate the economy to circulate in the system as efficiently as possible, as the government wants. For example, in Chiang Mai Province, if the government sets the use of digital wallets in Mae Rim District, which has a population of approximately 80,000 people, there will be 800 million baht circulating in the district. However, if it is given out in cash, people will spend more money in Mueang Chiang Mai District. If shops want to change to cash, they can do so in the second round, and the cash will still circulate in the system, which has a long-term effect. This mechanism is not just about stimulating the economy, but also laying a long-term digital foundation so that Thais are ready to support the digital economy, including various citizen data that will be useful for the government to set policies accurately. He also emphasiz
ed that government applications are definitely safe.
Mr. Chulaphan also emphasized that in terms of spending, the government has set up a mechanism to prevent concentration with large companies and to spread it out for easy use. Therefore, you can buy things from small convenience stores, local community enterprises, including street vendors that do not pay taxes, but can register but cannot withdraw as cash. He also confirmed that the government will open registration for shops on October 1st.
For people who do not have smartphones or mobile phones to register for the rights, Mr. Chulaphan revealed that the government will open registration for people who do not have smartphones or mobile phones to register from September 16 – October 15, 2024. They must register through government agencies and use their ID cards to purchase products, which may not be convenient and more complicated.
Mr. Chulaphan explained the case where a member of the Senate raised questions about the government’s digital wallet projec
t for political gain, confirming that this project is to stimulate the economy and lay the foundation for the digital economy, and is not related to the past elections. It is a social contract that the government announced to the parliament, so it must move forward. It is not a political party because all parties are in the same coalition government. Therefore, it is not a policy of any one party. There are also changes to policy details according to the concerns of society, which the government is ready to listen to.
After the Senate approves the additional 2024 budget bill with a budget of 122 billion baht, the Senate President will send the budget bill back to the Prime Minister to submit for royal endorsement according to the procedure and to be published in the Royal Gazette.
Source: Thai News Agency