BANGKOK — Citing the need to curb the strong baht and reduce inflationary pressures, the Bank of Thailand cut the “5-baht” joke by 20% to “4 baht, effective immediately.”
In an official order posted on the BOT’s website, all television game shows, katoey cabarets, nightclub café MCs, and one-liner-cracking members of the general public have until June 30 to change their humorous responses to being asked to do ordinary things from “ha baht” to “see baht.”
The move is seen as the strongest measure yet to take control of the economy in the face of increasingly worrying factors, such as a weak stock market and falling export revenues. Along with the last quarter’s one-point cut in interest rates, the slash in the punchline of the country’s longest-enduring and most versatile joke is hoped to bolster investor confidence as well as reflect “the new reality of the stronger baht,” according to BOT president Dr. Tarisa Watanagase.
Violators face fines up to ฿1000 for each offense and a possible jail term not to exceed three months. Dr. Tarisa assured the public that the customary accompanying gesture of the outstretched palm to receive the ironically-demanded money would remain unchanged for now.
