Populist policies boomerang on Yingluck govt

Acting Government Spokesman Aunsorn Aimsaard has said the government would implement 16 urgent policies in its first year in office and claimed that more than 45 per cent of those policies have already been completed. But the one year is up in August – only four months from now.
Two major populism policies are now causing headaches for Yingluck because they are backfiring on the administration. The policies to raise the minimum wage to Bt300 throughout the nation and the entry salary for university-educated civil servants to Bt15,000 are now creating economic problems for the government.
Yingluck has not yet been able to raise the minimum wage and salary but the prices of consumer goods have been inflating dramatically in advance of the pay hikes.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition Democrat Party, rushed to rub salt in the government’s wounds, saying populism politics, which he once failed to exploit for political gain, would hurt the people and damage the country.
The wage and salary policies put pressure on prices and drive up the cost of living for consumers. “That’s the failure of the policy,” he said.
Yingluck seemed not to give in as she tried to keep her promise to voters by adding some money to the incomes of university-educated civil servants. Their base salary remains the same but the government has given them an extra fillip to make their income reach Bt15,000 per month. The base salary cannot be hiked now since the government has no budget to adjust the salary system for all grades.
The minimum wage hike also covered only seven provinces, not the entire country, as the policy was strongly opposed by employers.
Other populism policies such as lowering the oil price by suspending contributions to the State Oil Fund were implemented only for a short period after the government assumed power.
The government has resumed collecting fees from fuel consumption for the fund, resulting in high retail prices. The policy of setting a flat rate for the elevated and underground trains in Bangkok also could not be enforced.
Yingluck promised during her political campaign that mass rapid transit in the capital must charge only Bt20 for the entire route. However, now her transport minister has changed the tune, saying the flat rate could be introduced only after all networks in Bangkok are completed.
This promise might not be kept during this government’s term since none of the new routes can be completed within the three years remaining.
The controversial policy of providing free tablet computers to first graders also ran into some difficulties as the devices cannot be delivered to all kids on May 23, the first day of the new semester.
Information and Communications Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap has said the imported tablets could arrive in June.
Only one populism policy could be deemed as progressing and that is the women’s development fund. More than 10 million women have joined the fund since it was launched on Women’s Day on March 8.
The populism policies for the people are late in coming but the political policies under the guidance of former premier Thaksin seem to be moving along on schedule. Policies such as the constitution amendment and reconciliation plan are now in midstream and perhaps can be accomplished within this parliamentary session.
Prime Minister Yingluck has defended her policy record by saying that all policies were enforced accordingly. All policies have been advancing step-by-step, although some steps might take time as there has to be coordination among many agencies.
However, what the prime minister needs to do to evaluate policy execution is to see the implications for the people, rather than simply say the government is working on them.