Pol.Phee harshly criticized Monporn for lying by accusing the minority government of cutting the digital wallet budget. He revealed the project collapsed during the Phaethongtharn administration due to investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and said the budget was reserved to address the U.S. Trump tax, unrelated to the minority government.
On 23 Dec 2025 GMT+7, Mr. Pol.Phee Suwanchawee, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Nakhon Ratchasima from the Bhumjaithai Party, responded to former MP Monporn Charoensri of Nakhon Phanom's Pheu Thai Party, who campaigned claiming that the digital wallet project failed because the minority government cut its budget to support the Khon La Khrueng Plus program. He said the accusation was untrue and clearly distorted the facts.
The digital wallet project "had already collapsed" during the administration of Ms. Phaethongtharn Shinawatra. At that time, Prime Minister Phaethongtharn stated it was necessary to reserve the budget to cope with U.S. tax measures (the Trump tax). This aligned with the facts that the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) accepted complaints regarding the government of Mr. Srettha Thavisin and colleagues reallocating budget to this project without following the prescribed framework.
"Regarding the digital wallet, by the time of the Phaethongtharn government, the project carried legal risks, so to prevent future problems, they chose to shelve it from the start and redirected the budget of 157 billion baht to water, roads, and tourism projects. Therefore, whether the project proceeded or not had nothing to do with the minority government that came after," he said. Mr. Pol.Phee said.
Mr. Pol.Phee also stated that Monporn using this issue to make accusations was shamelessly lying to voters during the campaign, since all the facts had been publicized in the media all along.
"In truth, Monporn should even thank the Bhumjaithai Party, which once helped push the project to success in its first phase. But when the project encountered problems, Pheu Thai chose not to continue, and Bhumjaithai did not oppose it because we have always been a good coalition partner with political courtesy. Yet today, lies are being spread to defame, damaging the reputation of the Isan people and their descendants," said Mr. Pol.Phee. Mr. Pol.Phee said.
Regarding the Khon La Khrueng Plus program, Mr. Pol.Phee confirmed that it used a limited remaining budget and did not cut funds from the digital wallet project, which had no budget available since before that time.
"Good politics does not require fabricating lies to deceive the public. It is better to campaign with truth and achievements. Defaming others does not elevate anyone; it only lowers oneself through the lies created," he said. Mr. Pol.Phee said.