Thai Move Forward Party Critiques Government Budget, Demands Reform

The Thai House of Representatives, during its deliberation on the 2025 budget bill, faced intense scrutiny from the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) regarding budget allocations, particularly for the Office of the Prime Minister and the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). Nattaphong Ruangpanyawut, an MFP list-MP and party leader, argued that over 90-95% of the 2025 budget consists of carry-over projects from previous years, contradicting the government's pledge of a "zero-based budget." He also raised concerns about alleged bid-rigging in the TH-AI Passport project and corruption risks in the southern regions. Nattaphong declared that he would not allow the budget for the Office of the Prime Minister to pass unless the government committed to three reforms for the 2026 budget process: 1) Push for a Public Information Disclosure Act to reveal bid prices, review committees, and all procurement data; 2) Improve the budget preparation process according to OECD Guidelines, setting policy frameworks for government agencies from the beginning of the fiscal year and pushing for a Budgetary Procedures Act; and 3) Open pre-budget debates to gather public and parliamentary opinions before budget requests are finalized, in accordance with Article 165 of the Constitution. Ratchanok Sri-orn, an MFP MP for Bangkok, questioned the transparency in committee and subcommittee deliberations, citing a lack of detailed specifications for expensive equipment purchases and a budget request of over 100 million baht covering all 77 provinces without proper details. She also highlighted ISOC's request to purchase flashlights costing 5,000-6,000 baht each without attached quotations. Furthermore, Ratchanok expressed dissatisfaction after her presentation slides were censored without prior notice, disrupting her focus. She revealed that many government agencies now use a tactic of providing QR codes for committee members to scan documents, only to delete the files afterward, preventing verification during the second reading. She urged the new Director of the Budget Bureau to urgently address the issue of passing incomplete documents. Romdon Panjor, an MFP list-MP, addressed ISOC's budget of over 5 billion baht, noting that 88% is allocated to the southern border provinces. However, he pointed out that violence statistics have continuously increased since 2020, indicating a failure in conflict resolution. Romdon questioned a directive in April 2024 to investigate ISOC personnel, aimed at resolving issues of "ghost personnel" and improper accumulation of service years. He raised suspicions about whether the 1.052 billion baht budget, which the Cabinet had previously resolved to cut but was restored by the committee, is linked to the "ghost personnel" budget. He also touched upon the "second wallet" issue, where some soldiers receive double special remuneration, and proposed a 1% reduction in ISOC's budget as a symbolic gesture to demand reform of the welfare system, ensuring it reaches actual field personnel. Source: INN News