More important still is the 3.3 trillion baht budget bill for the 2021 fiscal year which passed its first reading last week and will be further scrutinised in parliament. In Thai politics, budget scrutiny is also known as a bargaining process between government MPs and the opposition camps. But in some cases both sides could make a deal, colluding in the budget scrutiny process to get a slice of the budget cake. Hence, quite a few want to be House budget scrutiny members clearly with ill-intent. The opposition is also correct in criticising the 2021 budget for its heavy military spending which, despite cuts worth eight billion baht, still accounts for 220 billion baht of the total.

Source: Bangkok Post July 09, 2020 23:26 UTC