Proposal attacked for “benefitting wealthy”
PUBLISHED: 11 Jan 2025 at 04: 00
The Territorial Defense Command ( TDC ) chief is considering a proposal from the Defense Ministry to allow men to pay for their conscription while using the funds to pay for soldiers.
After the government sought suggestions on how to move from recruitment to a volunteer recruitment system, Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai referred to the plan presented by TDC chief Lt. Gen. Taweepool Rimsakorn as a private suggestion. He stated that the proposal would be properly evaluated, but he did not take into account concerns that wealthy people would disproportionately benefit from it.
Mr. Phumtham acknowledged that while volunteer enrollment is a purpose, the government has ensure it has an sufficient number of personnel to keep its preparation.
Lt. Gen. Taweepool made a point on Wednesday when he claimed it wasn’t known how many people would be drafted this year until website apps were submitted.
Without any further subsidies, he claimed it was difficult to predict whether more people would be interested. While charging for services might motivate people to apply involuntarily, the state budget might suffer as a result.
He suggested that those who wanted to be exempt may give a price that would be used to assist those who enlisted voluntarily. He also made it clear that the plan might cause controversies, and that additional options may be looked into to determine the best answer.
Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, a list MP from the People’s Party ( PP ), slammed the idea, saying it would reinforce the perception that military service is only for the poor.
The Defence Ministry may instead take proactive measures to protect soldiers from physical and mental abuse, according to the chairman of the House committee on military politics. He added that those from wealthy families are known to pay bribes to avoid being conscripted, and he questioned whether the proposal was intended to address under-the-table payments, which are estimated at$ 2 billion annually.
The disparity between the rich and the poor now exists, according to Mr. Wiroj, and the proposal may simply just make it worse. It is also incorrect to tackle corruption like this.
He argued that when deciding on the expected budget, the ministry should take into account the number of conscripts first, before addressing the funding sources.