The Democrat Party dissects the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society's 13 billion baht budget, demanding a review of the Cloud First policy, which they say leads to cost inflation and redundant payments, warning that the government ends up without owning any assets.
On 8 Sep 2026 GMT+7 at the Parliament building during the House of Representatives session to consider the 2027 fiscal year budget bill, in the second agenda on amending Section 16 concerning the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society's budget, Ms. Kardee Liaopairoj, a party-list MP from the Democrat Party, fiercely debated the budget allocation. She noted that the ministry’s overall budget was set at 13,625 million baht, but the special committee reviewing the budget bill only reduced it by 25.8 million baht, or just 0.19%, which is significantly lower than the average budget cuts for other ministries.
Ms. Kardee pointed out anomalies in the government’s Cloud First policy, describing it as "the more consolidation, the more it swells." Although individual agencies’ cloud rental expenses dropped by 10%, from 1,523 million baht to 1,359 million baht, when combined with the government cloud system budget (GDCC) of 4,980 million baht, total cloud-related spending increased by over 50%. Notably, the GDCC budget alone surged 120%, doubling in size. Additionally, there are budget overlaps, with 45 agencies separately renting cloud services worth over 1,000 million baht, and more than 40 agencies proposing their own data centers costing nearly 1,000 million baht.
The main reason state agencies avoid using the central GDCC cloud is due to complications in data migration and concerns about security and confidentiality, despite the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society’s role as the country’s chief technology officer (CTO) meant to establish maximum trust. This reflects an imbalance in technology investment, where most funds go toward infrastructure and rentals, while investments in data platforms and applications remain very low.
Ms. Kardee emphasized that renting cloud services without owning assets means that with rental costs exceeding 1,000 million baht in just two years, future expenses could soar to 50 billion baht. If the government continues focusing solely on rentals without building robust technology infrastructure, it will bear enormous recurring costs for new technology without owning any digital assets.
Moreover, Ms. Kardee cited redundant budgeting within the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, such as the Meteorological Department’s 492 million baht high-resolution weather forecasting project and 58 million baht budget for upgrading the weather forecast war room and communication systems. She called this unnecessary spending because Thailand already has agencies with comprehensive satellite and weather data, including GISTDA, the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT), and agencies under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Instead of starting from scratch, these agencies should integrate and share data. She proposed that the House of Representatives reduce these budgets to maximize public fund use.
Following this, Mr. Phandil Nuamjeum, a Bangkok MP from the People's Party, launched a fierce critique of the Meteorological Department’s request for a 492 million baht budget for the high-resolution weather forecasting project. He pointed out that while the department submitted only one page of supporting documents to the House for consideration, the special committee largely approved the budget without reductions. He revealed receiving a four-page whistleblower document with highly suspicious details.
Mr. Phandil stated that the Meteorological Department’s documents show a three-month proof of concept (PoC) conducted with Tomorrow.io from Dec 2025 to Feb 2026. However, the department’s public press release claimed the final meeting took place on 5 Feb. Crucially, the whistleblower’s documents reference a quotation numbered p.io 25124 dated 4 Dec 2025 for 497.55 million baht, sent directly to the department head at the PoC’s start, even before trials concluded.
Mr. Phandil emphasized that the government’s budget of 492 million baht, only 1% less than the private vendor’s quoted price, raises a key question: was this budget independently surveyed or was it set to align with a specific vendor’s quotation? If the documents are false, he urged the Meteorological Department to present original paperwork with official receipts to refute the claim. If true, the government must clarify who had prior knowledge of the internal requirements, who determined the budget, and who was granted early access to participate in this project.
According to reporters, after the MPs’ debate concluded, the House of Representatives voted on Section 16 (budget for the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society). The result was approval with 280 votes in favor, 141 against, and 53 abstentions.