Critics pile pressure on new PM

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is about to make a speech after receiving royal endorsement for her prime ministerial position in Bangkok on Sunday. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is about to make a speech after receiving royal endorsement for her prime ministerial position in Bangkok on Sunday. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

Critics have vowed to scrutinise Pheu Thai's digital wallet scheme, as well as Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over her shares in a company which bought a controversial monastic plot in Pathum Thani.

Suwit Thongprasert, an activist who was formerly known as Phra Buddha Isara, wrote on Facebook on Monday that a number of groups are asking government organisations to look into the issues.

"Pheu Thai had promised that the 10,000-baht [digital wallet handout] would be promptly distributed without the need to borrow money. Almost one year has passed, and the public has yet to receive a single baht from the scheme," he said.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) had earlier warned the government against following through with the scheme, citing various legal pitfalls and the potential for corruption.

A former spokesman of the Democrat Party also said Ms Paetongtarn should return the controversial Pathum Thani land to the temple.

The land in Pathum Thani's Klong Luang district was donated by a widow to a temple in Prachuap Khiri Khan in 1971.

After her death, the Mahamongkut Ratchawittayalai Foundation sold the land to Alpine Real Estate and Alpine Golf and Sports Club, of which Ms Paetongtarn is a shareholder.

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Vocabulary

  • borrow: to take money from a bank, financial organisation, person, etc. and pay it back over a period of time - ยืม
  • controversial: causing disagreement or disapproval - ความไม่ลงรอยกัน
  • corruption (n): dishonest or illegal behaviour, especially of people in authority -
  • critic: a person who expresses disapproval of somebody/something and talks about their bad qualities, especially publicly - ผู้วิจารณ์, ผู้จับผิด, ผู้วิเคราะห์
  • formerly: in earlier times - ก่อนหน้านี้
  • handout: an amount of money or goods giving to people who need them - การให้ทาน
  • monastic (adjective): having to do with monks - เกี่ยวกับพระหรือที่อยู่ของพระ
  • monastic land: land belonging to a Buddhist temple -
  • pile on the pressure: to compete against an opponent in a very determined and attacking way - กดดัน
  • pitfall: problem -
  • pressure: to try to make someone do something by forcing, threatening, or persuading them in a determined way - กดดัน
  • scheme: a plan for achieving something, especially something illegal or dishonest - แผนการ (ที่มีท่าว่าจะผิดกฎหมาย)
  • scrutinise: to look at or examine somebody/something carefully - พินิจพิเคราะห์, พิจารณา, ตรวจสอบ
  • shareholder: a person who owns some of the equal parts into which the ownership of a company is divided - ผู้ถือหุ้น
  • wallet: a small flat case that people keep money, bank cards, and small documents in and usually carry in their pocket or bag - กระเป๋าขนาดเล็กที่ทำจากหนังหรือพลาสติก
  • widow: a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again - แม่ม่าย

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