BANGKOK: The politician daughter of Thailand’s influential former top Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday ( May 3 ) said the main bank’s democracy was an “obstacle” in resolving financial problems, the latest salvo in an ongoing column over interest charges.  ,
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the leader of the ruling Pheu Thai party, was discussing a dispute between Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and the central bank, which has refused to bow to his constant pressure to lower rates.  ,
” The law that keeps the Bank of Thailand ( BOT ) independent from the government… is a problem and a significant obstacle in fixing economic problems”, Paetongtarn told party members.
Srettha claims that the interest rate at a decade-high of 2.50 per cent was hurting small businesses and putting a brake on government efforts to revive an economy he claims is in crisis. Srettha insists he respects the BOT’s independence.  ,
Paetongtarn, who has been tipped as a potential leader of Thailand, said the BOT’s monetary policy “refuses to understand and cooperate” and would hamper efforts to reduce high levels of debt.  ,
The central bank declined to comment on Paetongtarn’s remarks when contacted by Reuters.
The BOT would not succumb to pressure, its governor declared on Monday. He claimed on CNBC that the current interest rate was appropriate for the economy and that any short-term boost a rate cut might provide was” not an efficient trade-off” when weighed against longer-term unintended consequences.  ,
With her father Thaksin the billionaire figurehead of a party that has long dominated politics, winning all but one election in the previous 20 years, Paetongtarn’s comments have weight in Thailand.  ,
In his first term in office, Thaksin sacked the central bank governor over monetary policy disagreements.  ,
He is still a powerful figure in Thailand and made a dramatic comeback home in August after 15 years of self-imposed self-exile to face a prison term for conflicts of interest and abuse of power.
He claims he has retired from politics and was released on parole in February after spending six months in jail.  ,