Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is downplaying the leak of a classified document from the Bank of Thailand (BoT), which contains warnings for the government against implementing the digital wallet handout scheme.
Mr Phumtham, widely seen as the second-most powerful figure in the cabinet, said he has no idea about the document's contents as he has yet to see it himself.
The deputy prime minister also cast doubt on the document's authenticity, saying that if it were really intended as a warning for the government, it would have been formally addressed to the government.
"If it was really classified, how could it have been leaked?" he said before adding he would like to have a look at the document himself.
The government has asked the BoT for its opinion on the scheme in several meetings organised by the working committee on the digital wallet handout policy, but the bank never said it would come up with a document for the committee to review, he added.
"We shouldn't pay too much attention to such a paper," he said, adding what is important is that the coalition parties are on board with the 500-billion-baht wallet scheme, which would see a one-off, 10,000-baht digital money handout to Thais aged 16 and above who earn no more than 70,000 baht a month.
The government is confident it will be able to open registration for the scheme in the third quarter of this year and begin distributing the handout in the fourth quarter.
Despite Mr Phumtham's denial, a source in the Finance Ministry has confirmed the existence of the five- page paper, which conveys BoT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput's concerns over the digital handout programme.
The document dated April 22 was addressed to the cabinet secretariat office, according to the source.
It outlines the governor's suggestion that the scheme should be reviewed to better target individuals who need assistance the most, such as low-income earners and other financially vulnerable groups. This would reduce the burden caused by the soaring cost of living and stimulate the economy.
The document also said the scheme should be launched in phases to prevent overstretching the budget and preserve fiscal stability.
It also said there was no pressing need to spur public consumption on a bigger scale at this time, which would warrant heavy spending through various stimulus campaigns.
Further, the long-term financial burden created by the scheme may cause credit rating agencies, such as Moody's, to downgrade the country's credit rating, which would limit the government's ability to obtain loans and hurt investors' confidence in the economy, according to the document.
