People can submit complaints at those centres or via the hotline 1299 or PO Box 444 Ratchadamnoen 10200, NCPO deputy spokeswoman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong said on Monday.

She said the committees will consider the credibility of the complaints before forwarding complaints deemed actionable to anti-graft agencies.

If complaints relate to the Army, they will be scrutinised before being dealt with using bureaucratic measures, she said.

Sirichan said the centres were created in response to an initiative by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who heads the NCPO, to extend platforms for people to make complaints about corruption.

They are also designed to show the public that the government is serious about combating graft, she added.

Prawit denied knowing about a planned Cabinet reshuffle that could see him and Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda swap posts.

“It depends on the prime minister. But personally, I would like to work as defence minister because I’m more familiar with it.” Prawit said.

The defence minister added that he had not discussed the matter with the premier but he thought a reshuffle should occur following significant royal ceremonies.

It is expected that General Chaktip Chaijinda, the national police chief, will become social development and human security minister in the reshuffle.

The last Cabinet reshuffle under Prayut administration took place in December, with 12 changes made.

But despite strong speculation at the time that Prawit, who has served in Cabinet since the coup, would be unseated, he remained.

It is called the Royal Assets Structuring Act of BE 2560 (2017), which in effect repeals the three relevant laws of 1936, 1941 and 1948.

The 12-article new law was published in the Royal Gazette on Sunday and became effective from Monday. It was approved by the National Legislative Assembly.

According to the new law, “royal assets” refer to assets belonging to the King before his ascension to the throne, those given to him by the state, and those he earns personally, as well as financial returns from those assets. Any act to revoke royal assets is not permissible under this law, without royal permission.

Article 6 of the law stipulates that management of royal assets is at the King’s pleasure. He may assign the Crown Property Bureau, any individual or agency to manage the royal assets.

The Crown Property Bureau is considered a legal entity under this legislation. The King is empowered to appoint members of a committee to run the bureau and may dismiss any of them at his pleasure.

A remark at the end of its announcement stated that this new law was issued because the King needs to spend royal assets in performing his duties and therefore he should be allowed to have the assets managed at his pleasure “so that the assets are made use of in a proper manner”.

In early May, a new law was issued to transfer five state agencies overseeing royal affairs and security to work directly under His Majesty the King. They are the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary, the Royal Household Bureau, the Royal Aide-de-Camp Department, the Royal Security Command and the Royal Court Police. Previously, those agencies were under control of the government, the military and the police.

In the same month, a new royal decree was issued to outline the organisation and personnel administration of the agencies that work directly under the King. There are three main agencies involved – the Privy Council, the Royal Household Bureau, and the Royal Security Command.

Under the royal decree, privy councillors, civilians and military and police officers working in those agencies are considered officials under the King’s custody – not civil servants or state officials. The King may give military or police ranks to or remove ranks from any officials under his custody at his pleasure.

Isoc has invited major political camps and parties to participate in the seminar, in which it will discuss the harmony pact with participants.

Isoc spokesman Colonel Peerawat Saengthong said Isoc invited all people who had contributed to the pact’s creation since the scheme kick-started in February to join the sessions for a final brush-up before submitting it to the reform and reconciliation committee.

The first meetings will be held at the First Army Area command in Bangkok on Monday as well as other military barracks in all regions from Monday to Thursday.

Peerawatch expected some 500 people to join the session in Bangkok. Among the participants will be non-governmental organisations and concerned public members.

Similar sessions are to be held this week at the regional Army commands in Nakhon Ratchasima province in the Northeast, Phitsanulok province in the North and Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the South.

Disharmony in politics (70.5 per cent) was top among the five concerns 1,278 people expressed in a survey conducted by Suan Dusit Poll during the past week and released yesterday.

Coming second and third on the list were the behaviour of politicians and their comments on current politics. More than two-thirds, or 68.7 per cent, of the poll respondents said that politicians were inclined to abuse their power for their own ends, and that they often set a bad example due to their verbal abuse. Some 66.98 per cent of the people surveyed believed that politicians’ comments were not constructive and provoked further political conflict.

The second-last and last of the five concerns related to the election road map and the legislation of organic laws. Some 57.76 per cent of respondents were afraid that the election would be postponed as the process was still unclear and politicians were still debating the new voting system.

More than half of the people, 53.68 per cent, said they had no knowledge of the organic laws because there were so many pieces of legislation, and they were concerned that the laws would not be completed in time for the election. The respondents were also uncertain of the transparency of the legislation.

The poll also asked what people wanted to see in Thai politics today, and the first of the top five responses was harmony – 84.66 per cent. Progress and a healthy economy came second, at 71.63 per cent, while clean and corruption-free politics was third with 69.25 percent.

The fourth thing people wanted to see in politics was democracy and inclusive participation (64.87 per cent). Finally, people wanted to see new blood in politics and politicians who would be more constructive (63.07 per cent).

Meanwhile, authorities have continued with their efforts to bring about national reconciliation. The Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) has invited major political camps and parties to participate in a final seminar on the so-called social contract for national reconciliation tomorrow.

The seminar, in which the Isoc is to discuss the harmony pact with participants, will be held at the First Army Area command in Bangkok as well as other military barracks in all regions from tomorrow to Thursday.

Isoc spokesman Colonel Peerawat Saengthong said he expected some 500 people to join the session in Bangkok. Among the participants, besides the political groups, are NGOs and concerned public members.

The agency has prepared and got everything in place for the seminar on the social contract, the spokesman said. So, it had invited all people who had contributed to the pact’s creation since the scheme kick-started in February to join the session again for a final brush up before submitting it to the reform and reconciliation committee, he added.

Similar sessions are to be held this week at the regional Army commands in Nakhon Ratchasima in the Northeast, Phitsanulok in the North and Nakhon Si Thammarat in the South.

The move is to express solidarity with Thai activists opposed to the military-backed regime.

The five young activists, identified as Cat, Chris, Austin, Jay, and Effy from Australia, England, Canada, Malaysia, and Vietnam respectively, visited Pai at Khon Kaen Central Prison on Friday.

Pai ‘in good spirit’

Pai has been detained since December for sharing on Facebook a BBC article deemed insulting to the monarchy. His bail requests have been rejected more than 10 times since.

Despite months of detention, Pai remained in good spirit and told his international friends, with one of his fists up in the air, to encourage young people everywhere to carry on their struggle for freedom and democracy.

The five international activists would share their experience of meeting Pai and other political prisoners in their own languages to spread the word about the situation in Thailand, according to the New Democracy Movement Facebook page.

In its Facebook post, the anti-junta group also insisted it would continue to fight until justice and freedom are restored.

Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the spokesman attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the nine state agencies involved would spend Bt16.9 billion to buy more than 22,000 tonnes of rubber latex and almost 3,000 tonnes of rubber sheets for their use.

The prime minister, however, has turned down a request by rubber farmers for an order under Article 44 of the post-coup interim charter to make it mandatory for state agencies to buy rubber for their use, according to the spokesman.

“The prime minister is well aware of the suffering of the rubber farmers. But he maintained that there was still no need to invoke Article 44 to help reduce legal obstacles and make it compulsory to use local rubber. It is because the problem is being tackled and progress has been made gradually,” Sansern said.

General Prayut’s powers under Article 44 have remained under the new Constitution in effect since early April. As head of the ruling junta’s National Council for Peace and Order, he is empowered to issue orders with the goal of reforming the country that bypass the existing laws and powers of the three branches of government.

So far, nine state agencies have informed the prime minister of their intention to use local natural rubber for their projects. These are the Agriculture and Cooperatives, Defence, Transport, Education, Natural Resources and the Environment, Public Health, Interior and Tourism and Sports ministries, as well as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The rubber supply to be bought is for road construction and the production of products such as boots, gloves, pipes and rubber sheets.

“The prime minister has instructed the nine agencies to speed up their budget spending to help stimulate the domestic consumption of natural rubber before the end of the current fiscal year” at the end of September, Sansern said.

According to the spokesman, the Royal Irrigation Department has received 100 tonnes of rubber from the Rubber Authority of Thailand for its project to repair asphalt roads with a total length of 3,000 kilometres.

The government has come under mounting pressure from rubber growers to help prop up the falling prices. Groups of planters in the South have called on the prime minister to use his power under Article 44 to demand state agencies to use rubber in their projects, in order to help boost prices.

General Prayut also has instructed the relevant agencies to expedite establishment of a fund to help stabilise local rubber prices, to which the country’s five major rubber exporters would contribute Bt200 million each.

Meanwhile, leaders of small-time rubber planters in the South met with local military authorities in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday following their signature campaign to call for the removal of the governor and executive board members of the Rubber Authority of Thailand.

The five leaders of the rubber growers had earlier been summoned to meet the authorities from the 41st Military Circle and the Internal Security Operations Command at a local military camp. But the venue was later changed to the Provincial Hall to make it “appear more relaxed”, according to a source.

The group has started a campaign to collect at least 50,000 signatures to call for removal of the top executives of the Rubber Authority of Thailand, whom they blamed for the falling rubber prices

After yesterday’s meeting, the group maintained that they would continue with their signature campaign.

The envoy made the remark while presiding over the French National Day reception at the Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel on Friday night. “We look forward to next year’s election returning an elected parliament,” he said during a press briefing.

Apart from this, Garachon chose to limit his remarks regarding Thailand’s political situation. He simply said that both Thailand and France were going through a “transition period” as his country’s new president, Emmanuel Macron, had only assumed office in May.

Under former president Francois Hollande, France was among the Western countries that condemned the ruling junta for staging the 2014 coup and called for an immediate return to democracy. While Macron has yet to make any political remarks regarding Thailand, his foreign policy in Asia, including Asean, is likely to remain strategic.

France joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in 2007 before the European Union followed five years later.

At his press briefing, Garachon described France’s relations with Asean as “active, impressive and promising”. He noted the 27-billion euro (Bt1.04 trillion) trade between France and Asean countries in 2015, accounting for 13.7 per cent of trade between the European Union and Asean.

Infrastructure, education, know-how sharing and tourism were among areas of cooperation that Garachon said could be closer. France, which has had diplomatic relations with Thailand for 160 years, is the second largest exporter to Thailand with trade valued at 1.7 billion euros while Thai exports to France are worth 2.6 billion euros.

Thailand is France’s second largest partner in Asean, and there are 260 French companies doing business in Thailand. In June, France opened Station F, the world’s largest start-up centre with the capacity to support more than 1,000 start-up companies, which will be in line with the “Thailand 4.0” plan emphasising innovation and technology. On July 3, French and Thai private representatives signed agreements covering agriculture business, transport and infrastructure, Smart City projects, and renewable energy.

France also supports ongoing Free Trade Area dialogue between the EU and Asean.

Counter-terrorism measures were also an area of concern that France looked forward to developing with the international community, Garachon said.

“We have to encourage more data exchange to cope with the fast-adjusting terrorism and the transnational-crime threat,” he said. “We have to be ahead of them.”

The legislation has not been created to bully or discriminate against some particular people, he said. It had no impact over cases that had already been ruled on.

The organic law would only affect people absconding from trials, Seree said.

“It is not an infringement on rights or violation of the universal principles,” he maintained. “It depends on which principles we are talking about. But our country needs rules that suit our society or we won’t be able to deal with the rampant corruption.”

The legislation covered the procedures in court for political office holders, Seree stressed. It would do nothing to penalise, increase penalties, or put the blame on the innocent, the legal expert said.

Rather, the new legislation aimed to overcome weaknesses in the old procedures of the political office holders’ court, such as by suspending the statute of limitations for those on the run.

If anyone questioned its legality, they could petition the Constitutional Court, Seree said

The National Legislative Assembly passed the controversial bill on Thursday. The legislation would allow trials in absentia as well as suspension of the statute of limitations in cases where defendants were on the run.

Critics suspected the legislation targeted fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and colleagues who have several cases ongoing in the political office holders’ court.

Disharmony in politics (70.5 per cent) was top among the five concerns 1,278 people expressed in a survey conducted by Suan Dusit Poll during the past week and released on Saturday.

Coming second and third on the list were the behaviour of politicians and their comments on current politics. More than two-thirds, or 68.7 per cent, of the poll respondents said that politicians were inclined to abuse their power for their own ends, and that they often set a bad example due to their verbal abuse. Some 66.98 per cent of the people surveyed believed that politicians’ comments were not constructive and provoked further political conflict.

The second last and last of the five concerns related to the election road map and the legislation of organic laws.

Some 57.76 per cent of respondents were afraid that the election would be postponed as the process was still being forged and politicians were still debating the new voting system.

More than half of the people, or 53.68 per cent, said that they had no knowledge about the organic laws because there were so many pieces of legislation, and they were concerned that the laws would not be completed in time for the election. The respondents were also uncertain of the transparency in the legislation.

The poll also asked what people wanted to see in Thai politics today, and the first of the top five responses was harmony, with 84.66 per cent.

Progress and a healthy economy came second, or 71.63 per cent, while clean and corruption-free politics was third with 69.25 percent.

The fourth thing people wanted to see in politics was democracy and inclusive participation (64.87 per cent). Finally, people wanted to see new blood in politics and politicians who would be more constructive (63.07 per cent).