As the country gears up for the next election, tentatively scheduled to take place in early May, parties are racing to roll out populist pledges to attract voters.
Last Tuesday, after a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged parties to refrain from pledging welfare benefits and programmes ahead of the election, saying such promises might place an unnecessary burden on the next government's finances.
Gen Prayut asked, if the funding of such pledges requires budgets to be diverted from other areas of government, how would the country carry on?
Just two days after, Gen Prayut's adviser and head of the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party, Pirapan Saliratavibhaga, met Weerasak Hadda, chairman of TAO Association of Thailand, who came to see him to follow up on a promise to raise the salary of 400,000 TAO staff nationwide.
According to Mr Weerasak, the prime minister's adviser told him that Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda had agreed in principle to the proposal and will present it to a screening panel for approval.
If the panel approves the hike, the pay rise would come into effect without requiring a cabinet resolution, as it would be passed as a ministerial regulation.
Mr Weerasak said it was a sign of sincerity from Gen Prayut that he sent his chief adviser to meet him and proceed with the matter immediately.
He said that if their proposal gets the green light, Gen Prayut would be more popular among the 400,000 TAO staff nationwide.
"He will surely win over all TAO officials if it takes effect," Mr Weerasak said.
Some people have expressed concern that Gen Prayut is using the pay rise for political gain ahead of the elections.
Gen Prayut rebutted the claim saying, "Do you want me to sit around and do nothing until the election?" before pointing out that it would be up to the interior minister to approve the hike.
Technically speaking, Gen Prayut was right, in that the pay rise plan should be allowed to proceed as long as it is carried out in line with the rules.
However, the more important question is, was it an appropriate move?
His government only has about a month to go. It might even go to the polls even sooner if the House is dissolved early.
Gen Prayut must be aware that he is not just the prime minister. He is also a key figure of the UTN, which is contesting the election, and that he is among the party's prime ministerial picks.
While Gen Prayut has defended the pay rise, saying it has nothing to do with politics as the proposal was floated a long time ago, one must question why he is pushing the issue forward now, despite having been in power for eight years.
Gen Prayut warned against populist policies, saying those pledges could place an unnecessary financial burden on the nation's budget. However, isn't pledging to increase the salary of TAO staff nationwide another populist policy?
Whether it is appropriate to increase the salary of TAOs staff as proposed is also being questioned, with some critics disagreeing with the move for various reasons.
A good politician should not be a hypocrite. Gen Prayut and his government should leave the TAO pay-rise issue for the next government to decide.
