THAKSIN BACKS 500B BAHT HANDOUT PLAN
He also calls for ‘small steps of protectionism’ against China goods
THE Thai ruling party’s flagship 500 billion baht handout plan is needed to boost a sluggish economy, said political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra on Thursday, days after his daughter was elected prime minister by Parliament.
Although he has no formal role in the government, Thaksin is one of the most influential figures in Thai politics and is widely expected to shape the premiership of his 38-year-old daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The populist Pheu Thai party leader was elected yesterday, replacing Srettha Thavisin who was dismissed by a court order.
“We need to stimulate the economy as our country has grown slowly for a long time,” said Thaksin at an event, here, outlining the benefits of the handout scheme that was a key campaign promise for his party in last year’s election.
The “digital wallet” handout scheme, which would see about 50 million Thais receiving 10,000 baht of credit via a smartphone application to spend locally within six months, was planned to be rolled out in the fourth quarter under Srettha.
Srettha’s exit, however, had raised some doubts about whether it would still go ahead.
Thaksin’s remarks on Thursday indicated that Paetongtarn
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra attending an event in Bangkok on Thursday. He says the government needs to stimulate the economy as it has grown slowly for a long time.
would likely continue with the plan, which has come under criticism from economic experts and Thailand’s central bank.
Thaksin said that his daughter’s government would be able to deal with the challenges stifling economic growth.
The government is considering using 145 billion baht from the 2024 fiscal budget to provide handouts to 14.5 million people next month, with extra disbursements starting from October, he said. “It will be an immediate economic boost in September.”
Thailand’s economy grew 2.3 per cent in the April-June quarter
from a year earlier, beating expectations amid uncertainty after the change in government.
Thaksin said Thailand should also do more to protect the economy from an influx of low-cost Chinese products, applying “small steps of protectionism”.
“We don’t dislike Chinese products, but we have to find equality in competition.”
He underlined the urgency to deal with Thailand's ballooning household debt, which stood at 16.4 trillion baht, or 90.8 per cent of gross domestic product, at the end of March, among the highest in Asia.