“Teerachart” criticizes the TH-AI Passport project, saying the contract signed today was actually agreed upon yesterday. He accuses it of robbing Thai people's dreams by handing benefits to blue-clad investors and locking specifications to unfairly favor cronies in a blatantly improper manner.,
On 11 Jun 2026 GMT+7, Mr. Teerachart Kotrakul, a member of the opposition leader's team and the digital policy group of the Prachachon Party, revealed after observing the public consultation forum on the Digital and Artificial Intelligence Skills Enhancement Project for Thais (TH-AI Passport) held in the main conference room, 2nd floor, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES), that he has two major concerns. First, transparency: the project's Terms of Reference (TOR) appear suspicious, potentially locking specifications and blatantly favoring cronies. The TOR requires that the bidding company must enable user registration within 30 days of contract signing for a 1,621 million baht project and be ready to provide service within 90 days of signing — conditions nearly impossible to meet unless the company was pre-informed or pre-arranged. He questioned whether the contract signed today was actually negotiated yesterday. Second, value for money: the project reflects a government mindset of "breathing through someone else's nose," spending a lump sum that will be exhausted in just one year without truly benefiting the country's digital economic structure. This project is akin to buying five million pairs of premium shoes and claiming everyone will be healthier, instead of supporting sustainable industry development domestically. Instead, it subsidizes intermediaries who buy and resell goods.
Mr. Teerachart said the DES Ministry's consultation forum today seemed merely ceremonial, inviting experts for brainstorming and issuing grand publicity. Yet, at the same time, they openly admitted to already signing the contract and intend to proceed regardless. He fears this type of project will recur under the blue regime government — projects that recklessly spend taxpayers' hard-earned money without careful consideration or sustainability. They become large "cakes" divided among blue-clad cronies and investor groups. The Prachachon Party worries this will not stop at this project. This is a recurring cycle: designing unreasonable projects, drafting TORs to lock specifications for cronies, responding to criticism by holding consultation forums to soften opposition, then dismissing serious scrutiny by telling critics to file lawsuits or complaints to independent bodies, which are themselves suspected of being gradually captured by the blue regime. Ultimately, no one is held accountable, nothing changes, and the cycle repeats with the next project.
"Such cycles will erode Thai society in the long term. Spending money on projects like this is akin to robbing the dreams of the Thai people and entire industries, handing them to groups of blue-clad investors and intermediaries. It creates a culture telling young people that no matter how talented, hardworking, or determined they are to succeed through self-improvement, they will never overcome a patronage system that cares only about who their parents or friends are rather than the innovations they bring to advance the country. Ultimately, Thailand will fail to build a strong foundation."