House poll shows opposition to proposed funding changes for four organisations

Most respondents oppose proposed amendments to laws that would shift the funding sources of Thai PBS, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the Elderly People Act from legally earmarked sin taxes to the annual government budget.

The House of Representatives conducted an opinion poll to gauge public views on bills proposed by the Bhumjaithai Party to change the funding sources for the four organisations.

The House released three sets of results: an initial tally before voting closed at midnight, an updated tally announced at 9.30pm, and a further update released at noon today that included votes received after midnight.

The first two sets of results showed that the majority of respondents opposed the proposed changes across all four organisations.

For Thai PBS, 72.42% of the 124,591 respondents in the first tally opposed the change, while 27.18% supported it. In the second tally, the number of responses rose to 131,798, with 68.58% opposed and 31.05% in favour.

For ThaiHealth, 89.47% opposed the change in the first tally, compared with 9.33% who supported it. In the second tally, 89.43% opposed the proposal and 9.36% supported it.

For the SAT, 67.88% opposed the change in the first tally and 31.84% supported it. The second tally showed 67.89% opposed and 31.83% in favour.

For the Elderly People Act, 73.12% opposed the proposed amendment in the first tally, while 26.65% supported it. The second tally showed 73.13% opposed and 26.64% in favour.

The latest results showed that 68.58% opposed the proposed amendment to the Thai PBS Act, while 31.04% supported it. For the SAT Act, 67.89% opposed the amendment and 31.83% supported it. For the Elderly People Act, 73.13% opposed the change and 26.64% supported it. For the ThaiHealth Act, 89.43% opposed the amendment, while 9.16% supported it.

House Secretary-General Sirote Paetphan said the votes received after midnight had been unexpected. He added that these late votes would be separated and excluded from the earlier tallies.