Atthawit outlines hardline platform on graft, scams and energy

On July 17 at the Bangkok Youth Centre (Thai–Japan) in Din Daeng, Atthawit Suwanpakdee, the No. 2 prime ministerial candidate of the Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (RTSC), spoke at a “NATION ELECTION 2026” vision forum aired by Nation Group.

Atthawit said he had six crisis issues he wanted to fix—issues he claimed politicians in the past “did not dare” to address and could not deliver on.

He said he would immediately revoke MOU 43 (land) and MOU 44 (maritime). He also spoke about boosting morale for soldiers, saying those sent to fight should receive 200,000 baht and, if deployed twice, 400,000 baht.

On conscription, he said there should be no argument, proposing 30,000 baht for conscripts. He said around 80,000 people are conscripted each year and argued the budget would be 2.4 billion baht, asking why the state could not provide it.

Atthawit went on to describe a policy he called a move to “deal with wrongdoers”, saying corrupt officials and politicians should face the maximum penalty, and he also referred to scammers and fraudsters, saying current penalties were too light compared with the damage they cause to victims.

On energy, he said RTSC would cut the electricity tariff to 3.94 baht. He said the price could be reduced by 4–5 satang every four months until it reached a total cut of 16%. He claimed that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) produces only 29% of the country’s electricity, with 71% produced by the private sector. He said his approach would reduce private-sector profits and monopoly gains, and claimed it had already saved people 270 billion baht.

Atthawit said he agreed the constitution can be amended, but said the referendum question asked whether it should be “torn up”. He insisted it cannot be torn up, saying the constitution can be amended, but if amendments touch key chapters, there must be a referendum.

On the Thai–Cambodian border issue, he said he would tell the US president that he could not trade Thai territory and the dignity of Thai people for tariffs, and said he believed a leader must make such a decision.

He said he would also tell China that it is Thai territory and must be reclaimed, adding that Thailand has never recognised Taiwan as a country, and that China should also respect Thailand’s position. He said decisiveness is important, and said he would tell the armed forces to fight until the other side “can no longer threaten Thailand”, adding there should be no ceasefire order. He said that whenever there are talks and a halt, Thailand suffers losses, and added that if one cannot go “all the way”, one should not start; and if one is not strong enough, one should not become prime minister. He also referred to compensation for troops who go to fight.