Former foreign minister and a core member of the Pheu Thai Party, Noppadon Patama, defended their party’s manifesto promise today (Tuesday) to distribute 10,000 baht to the e-wallets of every Thai national aged 16 and over, insisting that this policy will stimulate the Thai economy substantially.

“Now, we are engaged in a tug of war with our economic slowdown and poor purchasing power which requires a push big enough to stimulate the economy,” said Noppadon, adding that giving away a few hundred baht to the people at a time would not be enough.

He said anyone or party can criticise the policy, but this only provides an opportunity for the party to explain it to the people so they understand its advantages.

He dismissed the commentary by some critics likening the money wired into e-wallets to cryptocurrency. “This is not cryptocurrency or a new currency,” he said.

He then urged the critics to read the clarifications made by party members about the policy carefully, so they get a better understanding of it.

Associate Professor Somchai Pakapatwiwat, a well-known economist said, however, that the Pheu Thai party’s 10,000 baht giveaway manifest promise is just a populist policy to win votes, similar to the United Thai Nation Party’s policy to increase the allowance paid to all welfare card holders to 1,000 baht a month, from about 200-300 baht.

The positive aspect of this policy is that it will help stimulate the economy, but the negative is that it will be a big burden on the country’s national budget and will increase public borrowing.

Somchai believes that the Thai economy is likely to grow anyway this year, even without the Pheu Thai Party’s policy which, it is estimated, would cost about 500 billion baht. Moreover, he said the economy will be boosted by the about 96 billion baht being spent by parties during the election campaign.

Palang Pracharath party’s deputy leader Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said the Pheu Thai Party’s 10,000 baht per head policy is similar to one million baht village fund of the Thai Rak Thai Party, the predecessor of Pheu Thai Party.

Associate Professor Pichai Rattanadilok Na Phuket, dean of the School of Social Development and Management Strategy of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), called Pheu Thai’s policy extreme populism, adding that, while it would stimulate the economy, it will also create a huge financial burden for the government, forcing it to borrow more or to cut the budgets of other agencies, which will result in higher inflation.