Karndee Launches Petition to Halt TH-AI Passport Project Over 1.6B Budget

On July 29, Mrs. Karndee Leopairut, a party-list Member of Parliament and deputy leader of the Democrat Party, published a Facebook post urging citizens to sign a public campaign calling for the termination of the TH-AI Passport project. The controversial project allocates a budget exceeding 1.6 billion baht, yet critics argue its capabilities fall short of existing free software. She also expressed gratitude toward friends and supporters who shared links and information, giving her stronger momentum to pursue the investigation.

The campaign messaging shared by Mrs. Karndee encourages the public to support her efforts in questioning and scrutinizing the TH-AI Passport initiative to ensure that the 1.621 billion baht in taxpayer money is spent transparently, efficiently, and for genuine public benefit. The campaign noted that she stands as the sole politician persistently tracking this matter, while promoting hashtags centered on transparent auditing and stopping wasteful budget allocation through the Stopaipass website.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Meanwhile, reporters noted that this campaign was not initiated by any political party, but rather originated from a network of tech professionals in Thailand who operate independently without affiliation to political parties or funding from corporate entities. The campaign website clearly outlines its stance against allowing procedural corruption to become an acceptable national standard, pointing out that while every procedural step might be legally compliant, the lack of performance metrics remains deeply concerning.

The campaign website further elaborated that the core issue is not about rule violations, but rather the exploitation of bureaucratic regulations as a shield, given the absence of predetermined performance metrics or clear answers regarding the country's return on investment. It stresses that compliance with regulations does not automatically equate to correctness or true cost-effectiveness for the public.

We are not asking to review just a single project; we reject a standard that allows billions of baht in tax money to pass through without answering basic questions of who benefits, how it is measured, and whether it is open to public scrutiny.

Thai Tech Professionals and Karndee Leopairut

Furthermore, the campaign organizers firmly stated their refusal to accept billion-baht budget approvals lacking pre-announced indicators or vague agency-based disbursements. They are gathering public signatures to formally submit demands to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, urging them to terminate the project immediately.

Source: Matichon Politics