Digital Economy Minister Defends TH-AI Passport Project
Thailand's Digital Economy Ministry defended the TH-AI Passport project against opposition scrutiny, saying all government procedures were properly followed and claims of inflated user numbers lack evidence.
On September 22, Deputy Minister Nanbunyothida Samchai of the Ministry of Digital Economy for Society responded to opposition lawmaker Kalee Lioupairojn's request to the State Audit Office to delay payment for the TH-AI Passport project over concerns about a missing moral agreement. The deputy minister confirmed all government projects are open to inspection but insisted scrutiny must be based on facts, not imagination.
Nanbunyothida clarified that projects exceeding 1 billion baht must be submitted to the Comptroller General's Office for committee selection before requiring a moral agreement. She stated the office informed the ministry in December that TH-AI Passport did not meet the criteria for such an agreement, so criticism should first examine the procedures. Regarding allegations of inflated registration numbers, she said the project requires digital ID verification through Thailand's official government apps, making bulk padding impossible without clear evidence. She noted the ministry tracks both registered users and active users separately on the project website and social media channels, and said if padding had occurred, registrations would have already reached 5 million users.
