SEVERAL ORGANISATIONS yesterday lambasted a government idea to pay monthly subsidy to only the needy elderly, not all Thais aged above 60.

Citing budget constraints, the government has been considering excluding elderly people who have no less than Bt3 million worth of assets or a monthly income of Bt9,000 for the right to claim state subsidy.

“The move reflects a lack of sincerity in the government to solve inequality in the country,” Chuleeporn Duangchim, from the Bangkok People’s Network for Welfare State, said yesterday.

She said while the government complained about budget constraints to give financial help to elderly citizens, it had budget to increase civil servants’ welfare, and arms procurement.

Nuken Injan from the Four Regions Slum Network said the government in fact should consider subsidy as a basic support for all senior citizens. “It’s just that those with some savings will have extra cash,” she said.

Apiwat Kwangkaew, a representative of the “People’s Health Systems Movement”, said the Finance Ministry needed to consider the quality of life of the elderly, not just financial issues. This year, the government has allocated a Bt63-billion budget as monthly subsidies to 7.99 million elderly Thais. The number accounted for 74.53 per cent of the country’s elderly population.

Over the same period, pension for about 600,000 retired government officials cost the government more than Bt1.4 billion.

Somchai Krahangsaeng, who spoke up for unregistered workers, said it was internationally proven that the process of identifying just the needy was vulnerable to corruption and often failed to ensure that all members of the needy really received the help.

Ubon Romphothong said the idea of giving subsidy to only needy senior citizens would take the country backward.

“We have placed much hope in the current government. It should not disappoint the elderly,” she said.

The government started giving monthly subsidies to elderly citizens, who had registered themselves for the scheme, since 2009. However, government agencies have lately reconsidered the approach and come up with the explanation that not all of the elderly citizens needed financial support from the state.

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong, meanwhile, said his ministry was preparing tax and other measures to encourage employers to employ the elderly.

“This is a way to ease the government’s financial burden on caring for the elderly. It’s also a move to prepare the country for its shift towards a full-fledged greying society,” he said.

It is estimated that the elderly will account for 21.2 per cent of the country’s population by 2025.