Four Thousand Buriram Residents Appeal Vehicle Eligibility for Welfare Card
Nearly 4,000 Buriram residents are appealing welfare card denials after being disqualified for owning vehicles, even aging ones over 15 years old used as work tools rather than assets.
Nearly 4,000 residents of Buriram province are filing appeals at transportation offices after losing eligibility for Thailand's state welfare card program. Investigators found that most disqualifications stem from vehicle ownership—cars or motorcycles—even when the vehicles are over 15 years old. One appellant, a woman using old vehicles for work and daily transport, argued these are not assets reflecting wealth but tools for making a living, and urged the government to exempt vehicles older than 15 years in the interest of fairness to low-income earners. Some people had already sold their aging vehicles for scrap but were still counted as owners and denied benefits. Wichiid, 54, revealed he was disqualified for owning four motorcycles; he brought documentation for two still in use, but the other two—over 20 years old—were scrapped long ago and cannot be appealed. He and others pleaded with the government to relax the criteria, explaining that their vehicles are essential to their livelihoods; some earn only 200–300 baht a day growing vegetables while supporting up to nine family members, and they asked to have their original welfare entitlements restored, especially for elderly people without the strength to find other work.
