Opposition MPs grill govt over delays in digital wallet scheme

Speaking to the press on Friday, Move Forward party-list MP Sirikanya Tansakul said that she was not surprised by the minimal progress reported by the committee.

On Thursday, the committee announced it was setting up a subcommittee to study the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s (NACC) guidelines for the handout scheme.

Sirikanya urged the government to be decisive regarding the scheme, adding that if there were further delays, the government could draw up temporary measures to alleviate the economic crisis the government has been warning of. Additionally, Sirikanya called on the government to release the entire NACC report for the public.

The two-time MP concluded that the chances of the digital wallet scheme going ahead were dimming, and that the government’s unclear stance on whether it was going to push ahead with the scheme was holding up the decision-making process of citizens and stakeholders.

The NACC report had highlighted its concerns about the scope for corruption through the digital wallet scheme. However, through its role as an independent body, it has no jurisdiction over enacting policy and is only able to give recommendations.

Meanwhile, Thai Sarng Thai MP Pariyet Ungkulkitti has called on the government to stop delaying the digital wallet scheme. Pariyet added that if the government was going to push through with the scheme, it merely needed to do so.

Pariyet added that the government’s narrative of an economic crisis is driving away foreign investors and scaring local consumers. Pariyet said he had never seen a national leader speak against their own economy for so long.

The government can issue an executive order to obtain funds for the handout. However, for such an order to be legal, the country would need to be in "crisis". Such an order was issued in the past by former PM Prayut Chan-o-cha during the coronavirus pandemic.