Critics have vowed to scrutinise Pheu Thai's digital wallet scheme, as well as Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over her shares in a company which bought a controversial monastic plot in Pathum Thani, which houses Alpine Golf Club and a residential complex.
Suwit Thongprasert, an activist who was formerly known as Phra Buddha Isara, wrote on Facebook on Monday that a number of groups were moving to petition several independent government organisations to look into the issues the day after Ms Paetongtarn takes the oath of office before His Majesty the King.
"Pheu Thai had promised that the 10,000-baht [digital wallet handout] would be promptly distributed without the need to borrow money. Almost one year has passed, and the public has yet to receive a single baht from the scheme," he said.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) had earlier warned the government against following through with the scheme, citing various legal pitfalls and the potential for graft.
Chao Meekhuad, a former deputy spokesman of the Democrat Party, also weighed in on the Pathum Thani land controversy, saying Ms Paetongtarn should return the controversial land to the temple to avoid any legal wrangling that could endanger her premiership.
The land in Pathum Thani's Klong Luang district was donated by a widow, Noem Chamnanchartsakda, to Wat Dhammamikaramvoraviharn in Prachuap Khiri Khan back in 1971.
After her death, the Mahamongkut Ratchawittayalai Foundation, which was appointed as the executor of her estate, sold the land to Alpine Real Estate and Alpine Golf and Sports Club, of which Ms Paetongtarn is a shareholder.
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases ruled in 2017 that former Pheu Thai leader Yongyuth Wichaidit abused his power by allowing the sale of monastic land to make way for the Alpine Golf Club while serving as acting permanent secretary for the interior in 2002.
In 2019, the Appeal Court upheld a two-year prison sentence handed down by the lower court. In 2020, the Appeal Court denied his request to appeal the ruling.
The NACC, which investigated the sale, found Yongyuth at fault for cancelling a Land Department order that revoked the sale of the 732-rai monastic land to Alpine Real Estate Co.
The Council of State deemed the sale illegal because it was monastic land, forcing land officials to cancel the deal.
