BANGKOK, Thailand – Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, leader of the Thai Sang Thai Party, has questioned whether the government has the resolve to truly reform energy structures, reduce electricity and fuel costs, and help ease the burden on citizens. She also urged for measures to “increase income” and boost competitiveness for SMEs while advocating for the development of a skilled workforce to meet global megatrend investments.
Sudarat highlighted the pressing household debt crisis, now at 90% of GDP (over 16 trillion baht), exacerbated by significant debt accumulation from cash giveaways. She criticized the lack of sustainable income generation, calling current measures a political tactic rather than genuine economic stimulation.
For 2025, Sudarat emphasized the need for sustainable revenue generation by strengthening the economic foundation, supporting SMEs, agriculture, tourism, and exports, while protecting local businesses from foreign competition. Additionally, she stressed the importance of workforce development to align with industries like health services, semiconductors, clean energy, lithium batteries, cloud computing, and the metaverse.
She expressed support for the promise to lower electricity rates to 3.70 baht per unit but insisted on genuine structural reform of energy prices rather than temporary subsidies, urging the government to dismantle monopolies for long-term solutions to high utility costs. (TNA)
