The Democrat Party strongly criticized the government’s debt creation during a parliamentary session, revealing figures that directly challenge the 400 billion baht loan decree which has caused public debt to soar past 11 trillion baht.
On 4 June 2026, during a House of Representatives meeting, a motion was considered to establish a special committee to monitor and investigate spending under the Royal Decree authorizing the Ministry of Finance to borrow 400 billion baht. Chaiyachana Deddejoh, a party-list MP from the Democrat Party, spoke in support of the motion and created a stir by standing in silent tribute for 30 seconds before his speech. He said this symbolic gesture was directed at the administration that would leave the country with a massive debt burden in the future. He added that although the loan decree initially seemed resistant to forming a committee to oversee it, he thanked the Prime Minister—also leader of the Bhumjaithai Party—for signaling his party members to vote in favor of establishing this committee.
Chaiyachana gave a detailed critique of the loan spending plan’s first phase, involving 200 billion baht used to alleviate living costs through the Thai Ruam Thai Plus program and the state welfare card. He observed that government MPs, especially from southern constituencies, actively promoted registration and congratulated people enthusiastically but failed to disclose that the funds distributed were borrowed money that all citizens would have to bear the burden of repaying in the future. He argued that if the government truly cared about living costs, reducing electricity bills, fuel prices, and product costs would be more sustainable solutions that didn’t require borrowing money to distribute. He viewed the government's approach as deceptive toward the public.
Chaiyachana and fellow Democrat MPs expressed serious concern about the second plan involving clean energy or solar power. They noted that the government lacked clarity on whether to implement rooftop solar or solar farms, leading various ministries to compete for budget shares to run their own projects without a clear overarching plan. They warned the government about a silent threat over the next decade: once solar panels reach the end of their lifespan, they will become hazardous waste, creating a heavy burden for local administrative organizations nationwide—including Bangkok, Loei, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Chiang Mai—which will have to bear the high costs of toxic waste disposal. This policy, therefore, not only creates debt but also plants an environmental crisis for local communities.
Toward the end of his speech, the party-list Democrat MP presented the country’s current public debt figures, now exceeding 11 trillion baht. He calculated that if the new 400 billion baht loan decree is included, every Thai citizen would carry an average debt burden of 164,800 baht per person. This means that a child still in the womb today would be born already burdened with nearly 170,000 baht of debt. He therefore called this law the “Descendants’ Burden Decree” rather than a loan decree, and expressed full support for establishing a special committee to thoroughly investigate the use of this 400 billion baht loan.