Digital wallet to proceed, despite PM”s legal woes

Whether or not Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is ousted by the Constitutional Court for appointing former prisoner Pichit Chuenban as a government minister is a subject of the Pheu Thai-led administration’s digital wallet flyer scheme, according to social observers.

The electric pocket flyer, which is Pheu Thai’s premier scheme to stimulate the economy, will stay alive as long as the ruling party remains in power, they said.

Following his appointment as PM’s Office Minister in the most recent cabinet reshuffle, the Constitutional Court will decide on Wednesday whether Mr. Srettha did be prime minister.

40 past senators, who had been found guilty of contempt of court for attempting to reward Supreme Court officers in 2008 while representing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a contentious area case, filed a petition for the prime minister’s termination in May.

Flyer to resume

Somjai Phagaphasvivat, an impartial political and economic analyst, told the Bangkok Post that he believed even if Mr Srettha loses his job as a result of the judge’s decision on Wednesday, the modern budget project will go away independently.

” Registration has already started. The fifth quarter is when the handout is anticipated to start. This legislation remains intact”, he said.

The secondary bill, which seeks to increase the president’s digital wallet handout plan by 122 billion rmb, passed all three observations in the Upper House, according to him.

Anutin Charnvirakul, the head of the Bhumjaithai Party, could take Mr. Srettha’s place as prime minister, according to Assoc Prof. Somjai.

There are still two individuals for prime minister in Phuket. But one is not in great health]Chaikasem Nitisiri], while the other]Pheu Thai head Paetongtarn Shinawatra] may be too fresh for the job”, he said.

” So, a person who is widely recognised among coalition parties may be chosen to succeed Mr Srettha, and that could be Mr Anutin”, Assoc Prof Somjai said.

In response to Pheu Thai’s efforts to reclassify marijuana as a narcotic if Mr. Anutin is elected prime minister, he added, he did not believe Bhumjaithai would attempt to delay or scrap the modern handout scheme.

” I do n’t think Mr Anutin would want to be in conflict with anyone if he becomes prime minister”, he said.

Recently, a dispute appeared to possess emerged between Bhumjaithai, which advocated for the decriminalisation of hemp, and Pheu Thai, which seeks to change that plan.

A cannabis control bill was afterwards ordered to be presented to parliament, indicating that it might then be removed from the drug list. Spectators speculate that Bhumjaithai, which had threatened to ban any walk to gain marijuana to the cocaine record, may be in a hurry to calm them.

The fight for the modern budget handbook will continue as long as the new prime minister is elected by Pheu Thai, according to Varakorn Samakoses, a well-known scholar.

However, if the new prime minister joins another coalition parties,” things may be ambiguous,” according to Assoc Prof Varakorn, adding that it is still to be seen how the government will use additional funding to fund the handout program.

The government recently stated that the 450 billion ringgit will be used to fund the 2024 and 2025 finances. Around 160 billion baht will be generated by the fiscal year 2024, with about 43 billion baht coming from the main resources of 2024 and 122 billion baht coming from the additional funds.

Moreover, 152.7 billion baht of that 450 billion baht will come from 2025’s annual budget, while 132.3 billion baht will come via the management of other budgets, such as the central budget and unused budgets by agencies.

The supplementary bill passed all three readings in the Upper House on August 6 and aims to increase the government’s digital wallet handout scheme by 122 billion baht.

About 10 billion of the extra 122 billion baht will be from taxes and other sources of income, according to Mr. Srettha, while the remaining 122 billion will be from borrowing, according to Mr. Srettha.

Mr. Srettha defended the 122-billion-baht supplementary bill, arguing that the government should wait until the fiscal budget of 2025 before implementing the necessary measures.

Fulfilling election pledge

The implementation of the digital money handout scheme wo n’t depend on Mr. Srettha’s continued as prime minister, according to Pheu Thai spokesman Danuporn Punnakanta.

” The digital wallet is Pheu Thai’s scheme. It is one of the government’s legislative initiatives. It is an election campaign pledge made by Pheu Thai]that must be fulfilled ]”, Mr Danuporn said.

” I believe Mr Srettha will remain PM]after the court’s ruling ]. If not, Pheu Thai will continue to support the plan as long as the new prime minister is a member of the party, he said.

Because Pheu Thai still holds the majority of the House seats among coalition parties, it is unlikely that a new prime minister will join other coalition parties. Pheu Thai also still has two prime ministerial candidates”, Mr Danuporn said, referring to Ms Paetongtarn and Mr Chaikasem.

In the event that the charter court decides against him, he also ruled out the possibility of selecting a non-MP outsider to take Mr. Srettha as his replacement.

Siripong Angkhasakulkiat, a deputy Bhumjaithai leader, said the digital wallet scheme does not depend on Mr Srettha’s fate. ” If the court rules against Mr Srettha and the new PM comes from Pheu Thai, the scheme will go ahead regardless”, he said. ” As for Bhumjaithai, we have no problem with the scheme. As a coalition partner, we support it. He claimed that Phuket Thai has given assurances that the aid will boost the economy.

If Mr. Srettha is ousted by the court and his replacement is a member of another coalition party, according to a source from Bhumjaithai, the handout scheme could be canceled.

According to the source, “it is also difficult to support the scheme given the potential legal risks,” referring to a NACC warning about a range of potential pitfalls, from graft to legal concerns.