Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed confidence that the government's policy, which will be declared before Parliament on Thursday, especially the digital wallet handout programme, will serve as an economic whirlwind to help propel the economy.
The prime minister will outline the policy statement in Parliament on Thursday and Friday. Under the constitution, the government is required to announce its statement before commencing its work. She said she will provide an overall picture of the government policy while cabinet ministers will give details of the policies for which they are responsible.
"The digital wallet programme will become clear after the policy statement. I will provide an overall picture while the finance minister will explain details," Ms Paetongtarn said. "The aim of the digital wallet programme is to stimulate the economy. If such a stimulus is still not enough, we are ready to restructure the economy to become a digital one,'' she said.
"The digital wallet is not the only policy. We also have several other economic stimulus policies. But this is the main one to produce quick results," she said. She downplayed criticism about the plan to divide the 10,000-baht payment under the handout scheme into two tranches.
"It will take some time to install the digital wallet system, but people cannot wait, so we need to make adjustments to ensure they receive the money as quickly as possible," she said. "The payments will be made in phases. Payments in tranches, along with other economic stimulus measures, will help boost the economy," she said.
The government says 145 billion baht in cash under its digital wallet handout programme will be distributed to vulnerable groups and state welfare cardholders from Sept 20. As for those already registered via the Tang Rat application, they will receive 5,000 baht by the end of this year if the digital wallet system is not finished in time. The other half of the payment will be made in digital currency next year.
The scheme is the cornerstone of the government's plan to jumpstart Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which grew 2.3% in the second quarter. A change of government last month, caused by the court's removal of Srettha Thavisin as premier, has created uncertainty about when the promised stimulus measures would commence. Mr Srettha's successor, Ms Paetongtarn, said last week that part of the handout will now be given in cash.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai confirmed the digital wallet handout scheme would be presented to the cabinet for approval on Sept 17. According to the government's latest revised figures, the 450 billion baht for the handout scheme will be sourced from the budgets for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. Around 140 billion baht will come from the fiscal year 2024 -- with about 23 billion baht coming from 2024's central budget and 122 billion baht from 2024's additional budget.
A supplementary bill seeking to increase the budget for the current fiscal year by 122 billion baht to partially fund the scheme has been passed by Parliament. Moreover, about 187 billion baht of that 450 billion baht will come from the 2025 central budget. This means the 450 billion baht scheme is still about 117 billion baht short.
Wanwichit Boonprong, a political science lecturer at Rangsit University, told the Bangkok Post the Paetongarn government's policy is nothing new as it continues what the Srettha administration was doing. He said several policies of the new government appear to have been inspired by what former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said at a local forum last month.
Olarn Thinbangtieo, a political science lecturer at Burapha University in Chon Buri province, told the Bangkok Post some policies of the government were not part of its election pledges, such as the plan for an entertainment complex including a casino. "Many policies are similar to those proposed by Thaksin at the forum, which shows the government may have been influenced by Thaksin," Mr Olarn said.