Yingluck said in an eight-page letter dated yesterday that the government order to have her cover the damages was unconstitutional and unlawful. She ended her letter with “please consider to ensure fairness”.

However, she said on Facebook yesterday that she did not think her protest would lead to any concrete action by the government.

“I know you won’t pay attention again. If you had, this would not have happened,” she said, adding that she had now sent six letters to both Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong.

Yingluck noted that the criminal case against her over the rice-pledging scheme had yet to be completed.

She is being tried by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders for alleged negligence involving the scheme, which was introduced by her government. The court is expected to deliver its verdict late this year.

She also argued that it was not right for the Finance Ministry to seek damages from her as the agency was not the damaged party in this case.

Yingluck said a fair and legally acceptable estimate of the damages was not yet available, and it was unfair to her that the damages were sought from her alone. The ex-PM said she had her lawyer submit the letter to Prayut and Apisak. A copy of the letter was posted on her Facebook page yesterday.

The controversial corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme is estimated to have cost about Bt500 billion in state revenue.

In a related development, Yingluck met some 300 of her supporters in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday. “Yingluck, fight, fight,” they chanted.

She appeared among the supporters before a statue of respected local heroine Thao Suranari, holding a sword in one hand and a red sheath in the other. Her fans were shouting “Fight, fight.”

The gathering was observed by some 30 police and military officers.