Opposition MPs have criticised the government's 10.3-billion-baht budget transfer bill, saying it would have little impact on the economy and questioning the priorities behind the spending plan.
The bill, presented by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, seeks to transfer 10.3 billion baht from selected items in the 2026 fiscal budget to the central emergency and contingency fund.
According to Mr Anutin, the funding was necessary because the original 99-billion-baht emergency reserve had been used to address economic and social hardships arising from domestic and international challenges and was insufficient to respond to future emergencies and natural disasters.
The prime minister urged parliament to approve the budget transfer bill, saying the fund would be used transparently and efficiently to meet urgent national needs.
Democrat Party MP Korn Chatikavanij on Thursday argued that the proposed transfer would have only a marginal impact on the economy and provide less assistance to the public than expected.
He said the government had previously indicated it could reallocate as much as 125 billion baht to address rising energy prices and support the public. Instead, the final bill proposed transferring only 10.3 billion baht, equivalent to about 0.2% of the 3.78-trillion-baht budget.
According to Mr Korn, the government proceeded with the budget transfer bill primarily to honour an earlier commitment to parliament and strengthen its legal position when seeking approval for a 500-billion-baht emergency loan decree.
"Transferring only 10.3 billion baht when it knew it could reallocate 125 billion baht raises the question of whether the government has done its utmost to avoid borrowing. That matter will be reviewed by the Constitutional Court," he said.
People's Party list MP Sirikanya Tansakun also questioned whether the government had set the right spending priorities.
While the government said the transfer was intended to prepare for future disasters, it had cut more than one billion baht from an integrated water resources management programme, she noted.
She also questioned the criteria used to select projects for budget transfers, saying the government appeared to be withdrawing funds from projects unlikely to be disbursed on time while leaving inefficient spending untouched.
Ms Sirikanya described the transfer as a short-term cash-flow measure that came at the expense of delaying expenditure by state agencies.
"If the government were a private company, it would be seen as facing severe financial trouble, unable to manage cash flow," she said.
During the presentation of the bill, Mr Anutin outlined the sources of the budget reallocations.
He said the 10.3 billion baht would be drawn from two main areas: unspent routine expenditure across all budget categories as of June 2, 2026, and investment expenditure that had not yet proceeded to bidding, procurement or construction by the same date.
