“Jurind” warns digital wallets risk violating fiscal discipline

Parliament, "Jurind" warns the government not to create futureless loans in the digital wallet issue. There is a ripple and then it disappears into a debt storm. It risks violating fiscal discipline. Cutting the budget from yachts to rowboats shows signs of damage to the country. No matter what, let me campaign. Mr. Jurin Laksanawisit, MP for the Democrat Party, discussed the consideration of the draft of the additional budget bill for fiscal year 2024, a budget of 122 billion baht, to stimulate the economy through the digital wallet project, saying that today is another day to talk about the digital wallet, even though in reality it should have ended long ago. But because the government promised to do it immediately, today it is not like that. The main point of the draft of the additional budget bill is to borrow 122 billion baht to distribute as part of the 45 billion baht that the government will use to create a digital wallet. I have been following the news and there are people in the government claimi ng to do the same as Singapore, which is different. Please understand that Singapore really does distribute, but because there is enough money left, Thailand borrows money to distribute, but it is a different version. I would like to emphasize that I have never opposed the digital wallet project and I have always asked on behalf of the people when the 10,000 baht that the government announced during the election campaign will be distributed, and at what time. Today, I will ask again. Personally, I believe that when a political party campaigns and wins a government, they must be responsible because the contracts in exchange for votes must be compensated to the people. It must be done in time, legally, transparently, and worthwhile for the country. There are still many things that the government has not told the people. The government has told some things, some things are not complete, and some things are distorted. Therefore, it is the duty of the inspectors to act as a mirror to reflect the government's true identity for the people to see. This will be beneficial for the government to use in improving the management of the project and for the people to know together what the consequences will be for the country after giving out 10,000 baht to each person. Let's start with the project's delay. It's not the opposition of any party, but the government's negligence. They're administering the country like children playing store. They're like wooden stakes planted in the mud that keep swaying and unreliable. How many times has the time been postponed? How many boats have the people boarded in vain? The source of the money has been going back and forth. Even though the Prime Minister came out to show off his power and led the team to make a statement himself saying that what was coming next was clear, but later he canceled what he had announced. How many percent can this Prime Minister be trusted? When he campaigned, he said that he would give money away immediately, no loans. After becoming the government for a few d ays, he immediately postponed the decision, no loans. He even issued a 500 billion baht loan decree. But in the end, he raised the white flag because the amount was against the law, saying that it was impossible. The government tried to create an issue that the economy was in crisis. In reality, it was not so critical that it had to borrow money to give away. Instead, they used the BAAC's money, amidst warnings that it was at risk of breaking the law because the money was for giving away and taking care of farmers. It could not be given away in a casting net or helicopter money. The government still firmly insisted that it could be done. Three months wasted because of the government's stubbornness and persistence. In the end, they threw in the towel, which they had always insisted on, just being bold and shaky-mouthed, creating hope for the people day after day. The day before yesterday, I came back and asked to change the source of funds from two sources: the 2024 budget of 165 billion baht, divided into th e mid-year budget of 122 billion baht, which is currently under consideration, and another lump sum of 43 billion baht for management. The 2025 budget of 285 billion baht, divided into the expenditure budget of 150 billion baht and the management budget of 132 billion baht, which we still don't know where it is. Until today, there is still not a single baht of real money floating in the air. Many issues are still unsettled because the government is managing in a way that thinks and acts as it goes. For example, the Minister of the Prime Minister's Office announced the source of 43 billion baht, which will be taken from the central budget for 2024. Then the Deputy Minister of Finance announced that the 43 billion baht does not necessarily have to come entirely from the central budget. Is this the same Cabinet? Regarding the registration date, the Deputy Minister of Finance made a statement after the meeting of the large digital wallet committee chaired by the Prime Minister, stating that the registration dat e will be given to the subcommittee to consider which day. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister posted a message via the X application that registration will be open on August 1, 2024. He sympathized with the Deputy Minister of Finance who was at a loss because the Prime Minister was stealing the scene. What products can and cannot be bought? The large digital wallet committee assigned the Ministry of Commerce to consider. It was a thought-provoking and action-provoking situation. While the amount has been reduced 3 times, it was initially confirmed that the budget of 560 billion baht will be reduced to 500 billion baht, reduced to 450 billion baht from a yacht to a rowboat, but the target of 50 million people will remain unreduced, hoping that 10% or about 5 million people will not exercise their rights. But if 5 million people exercise their rights, where will the money be given out? It's like taking a rowboat to die in front of the sword. Mr. Jurin continued that the Prime Minister only told half the truth abou t the use of the central budget for 2024. The central budget that was not used and the government hoped to distribute was in the emergency central budget, which was 95 billion baht. According to the figures from the Comptroller General's Department, the government spent only 3.25 billion baht or 3.25%, meaning that the emergency budget disbursement was in neutral to allow the remaining money to be distributed to support the policies of political parties and the government. For the 2015 budget of 130 billion baht, until today we still don't know where it will come from. Please help answer the government. Will they use the majority vote in the budget-cutting committee to pile up as much as possible and then use the cabinet resolution to use it in the digital wallet? Will the coalition parties sit as cartoon characters? How much damage will the public suffer? Where will the ministry get the money to manage? Or will they have to propose the 2015 budget in the middle to get enough money? All of this is the truth that the government did not tell us. It is the karma that the government created, which made me have to come and tell the public instead. The bill we are considering consists of only 6 articles of principle, reason, and content. It includes 122 billion baht in the central budget to specifically create a digital wallet, and gives the Ministry of Finance the authority to order the disbursement. It states that the income is not borrowed in its entirety. According to the document, the tens of billions of baht in income comes from taxes and other income, which is a source of money from revenue collection that was not originally specified in the budget. However, when we looked at it, we found that the budget of 1 million baht came from a Thai asset management company that had to be transferred to the Treasury. Therefore, we took the opportunity to include it to make up for the fact that it was not borrowed in its entirety. This money has become a windfall and not the work of the government. If this bill is approv ed, it is equivalent to approving the government to borrow 122 billion baht to compensate for the deficit, which will be distributed to fulfill the policy. Debt repayment is a matter for the future. Meanwhile, investment expenditure has been criticized by all circles of experts because the government interprets 97 billion baht as investment expenditure, which is unlikely to be true because digital wallets are not investments but transfers for consumption. The definition of investment expenditure by the Budget Bureau clearly states that it is an expenditure that the government pays to procure capital assets, both tangible and intangible, as well as expenditures that the government subsidizes or transfers to individuals without the recipient having to pay back the government, and the recipient uses it to procure capital assets. In addition, investment expenditures also include expenditures that the government subsidizes, and the recipient intends to invest, not for consumption. It is a self-determination that t he money requested for approval is equal to investment. Ultimately, it may lead to the risk of violating the Fiscal Discipline Act, Section 20 (1). I understand the government trying to create a bubble, thinking that the money being borrowed today will be used for investment, not just consumption, and will be beneficial to the economy in further development. But we cannot escape the truth that what is being given out is being given out for consumption. In terms of value, the government has been saying all along that digital wallets will make the economy grow by 5%, causing a huge economic storm, causing the GDP of digital wallets alone to grow by 1.2-1.8%. It's like talking about a comedy cafe, looking down on people who do math all over the country, because no matter which agency, they say that the benefits are not worth the losses. There is also an opportunity cost if the government uses the 500 billion to do other things, such as giving to vulnerable groups or the poor, which will make them spend the mon ey immediately and use the remaining money to invest in other areas for sustainable economic development, which will be more beneficial than borrowing for the short-term economy. Therefore, borrowing money to distribute for only 6 months is like throwing a stone into the water. It creates a ripple effect and then disappears. But what follows is a tornado, leaving a huge debt for Thai people to pay for a long time. It is like the saying, "It doesn't matter if the country is damaged, as long as I can campaign." Jurin also mentioned the lack of transparency, warning the government to be careful not to turn it into a futureless loan force due to corruption. In addition, there are also old questions from citizens who are suspicious of the government, such as why not distribute in cash, why is it so complicated, why not distribute through the Paotang app, and the reason for distributing money to people aged 16 and over is because in 2 years, people aged 18 can vote in elections. This answers the question of who i s the money being distributed for in the end. Has the government ever asked itself? When it first came in, someone conducted a survey asking if the digital wallet project would be cancelled, and about 70% of the people answered that they would not be angry at all. This can be inferred that after the election, the economic budget will still be okay. But if they were to ask again, I'm not sure if the answer will change because this government has been in power for almost a year and there's nothing left for the people to hope for, except for a bowl of digital wallet rice soup. Even though they switched to shortcut apps, digital wallets are just a temporary survival for the poor and vulnerable groups. It may be a survival for some political parties, but it is not a survival for the country. Source: Thai News Agency