Srettha says new Cabinet likely to be submitted for royal endorsement Friday
The list of Cabinet ministers has been finalised and will likely be submitted for royal endorsement on Friday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Thursday.
Srettha said he expected the Cabinet Secretariat to complete checking the qualifications of new ministers on Friday, after which the list would be submitted to the Palace.
Srettha also tacitly confirmed that Pichit Chuenban, a lawyer close to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family, has been handed a Cabinet seat.
Asked to comment on outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam’s claim that Pichit’s appointment was ethically problematic, Srettha replied:
“We have to be fair to all ministers. If there are no legal obstacles and they pass the qualifications check, their appointment should not be ethically wrong.”
However, Srettha said he was seeking an opinion from the Council of State, the government's legal advisers, on ethics related to Pichit’s appointment. He expects the opinion to be issued by Friday.
“If the Council of State says it’s okay, I hope the issue will be over,” Srettha said.
Pichit was jailed for six months for contempt of court in 2008 over a paper bag he was carrying to give to Supreme Court officials at the start of the Ratchadapisek land trial against Thaksin.
Pheu Thai’s legal experts say that Pichit was jailed by court order, not after being found guilty, so is not constitutionally disqualified from holding a Cabinet post.
Srettha said his Cabinet lineup would not please all sides but the decisions of all coalition partners in selecting their ministers should be respected and the public should wait to see performance of the ministers.
