Thailand to revisit welfare eligibility after backlash over cuts
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The results of the latest screening, released last week, drew criticism after nearly half of the 18.8 million applicants were rejected.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Thailand will review and amend welfare card eligibility rules after rejecting over 9 million applicants, aiming to better reflect actual hardship and poverty.
- Vehicle ownership caused many rejections, with 40% of 2.9 million appeals related to cars; government plans to exclude old vehicles from assessments.
- One-stop service points will be set up to help elderly and rural applicants, while authorities investigate incorrect records and ease the appeals process.
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BANGKOK – Thailand will review new eligibility criteria for its welfare card programme after the rejection of more than nine million applicants triggered criticism of the new rules and raised questions over the accuracy of official records.
The Finance Ministry will make the rules more practical and more reflective of applicants’ actual circumstances, Vinit Visessuvanapoom, director-general of the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office, said in a briefing on July 20. Rejected applicants were also given until Sept 20 to appeal, extended from the original end-July deadline.
“We had good intentions in setting these guidelines to identify those who are suffering the most and the most vulnerable people in society,” Vinit said. “But now we also need to consider the reality of their hardship and poverty.”
The results of the latest screening, released last week, drew criticism after nearly half of the 18.8 million applicants were rejected. The outcry could pose the first major political test for Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who won a convincing election victory in February. He ordered agencies involved to respond quickly and restore public confidence.
Vehicle ownership has emerged as a key issue, with car owners generally excluded from receiving benefits unless their vehicles fall under specific exemptions.
About 2.9 million people have appealed their disqualification, with roughly 40 per cent of cases related to vehicle ownership, Vinit said. The government plans to amend the criteria and ensure that newly approved card holders will begin receiving benefits by Oct 1.
Many rejected applicants said the decisions were based on inaccurate or outdated records, including vehicles that had already been sold or old vehicles they previously used for work. There were also complaints of elderly people being incorrectly classified as students and tax deductions claimed by relatives.
Opposition lawmaker Sirikanya Tansakun on July 17 said the government tightened the rules to reduce the number of beneficiaries to about nine million to 10 million, after the fiscal year 2027 budget for the programme was cut to 42 billion baht (S$1.61 billion) from 50 billion baht previously. The screening had excluded people who were genuinely poor and in need of assistance, she said.
The appeals process has also caused confusion, as applicants struggled to contact agencies responsible for correcting vehicle, education and other records.
At a July 20 briefing, Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat apologised for the inconvenience and said the screening had exposed practical problems.
The Finance Ministry will propose excluding cars more than 20 years old and motorcycles more than 15 years old from the asset assessment. Applicants may also appeal through provincial transport offices over unusable, sold or fraudulently registered vehicles.
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said the ministry will set up one-stop service points nationwide to assist elderly, rural and digitally excluded applicants. Local officials will help collect information, while the authorities will investigate cases in which people were unknowingly listed as company directors, employees or account holders. BLOOMBERG
