Kobsak said “urgent actions” for the first year of the government were to tackle the economic problems of poorer people, to reduce inequality and improve social welfare, to create a secure future for the people, and to deal with general problems as they arose.

Kobsak is also a member of his party’s working group charged with drafting government policy.

Phalang Pracharat leads a fragile coalition that consists of 19 political parties.

During its four-year term, the new coalition government will also undertake policies for the economy, education, society, public health, natural resources, and the environment, in addition to boosting the administration’s efficiency, Kobsak said.

Coalition parties this week had begun submitting policy suggestions to Phalang Pracharat for inclusion in the new government’s policy statement, he added.

The next step was for representatives of all the coalition parties to take part in drafting the government policy statement, said Kobsak.

The law requires that the policy statement be announced in Parliament within 15 days of the new Cabinet taking an oath before His Majesty the King, a ceremony required before government ministers start working.

Kobsak said that Phalang Pracharat would include its campaign promises in the government policy statement, including extension of social welfare benefits and a pledge to tackle debt problems facing poor people.

Academics told the gathering at Chulalongkorn University that Thai society was already beset by violence and that rising hate crimes were caused by people lacking tolerance towards those who think differently.

The forum called on people to respect others’ opinions and beliefs even if they conflicted with their own, while also urging the media to be professional and objective when reporting news, so as to provide accurate information to the public without polarizing political partisanship and inflaming the social discord.

Chantana Banpasirichote Wungaeo, a lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, said the recent violent attacks on left-wing political activists Sirawith “Ja New” Serithiwat and Ekkachai Hongkangwan showed that hostility towards people of different political ideologies was getting worse and there was an urgent need to end the hatred before it sparked further violence.

“Everyone has different life experience and comes from a different background, so it is normal that each of us has a different view on the same issue and adhere to different values and ideologies,” Chantana said.

“However, many Thai people are taught to believe that ideas that contradict what they think is right are wrong and bad, so they strongly object and even fear these ideas, which lead to hatred and discrimination against those who think differently from them.”

She urged people to learn to accept diverse thoughts and respect other people’s rights to freedom of expression, saying that free speech and tolerance were essential for building a healthy democratic society.

Moreover, she said the government also needed to show tolerance towards those who disagreed with them, and must not oppress its opponents.

However, Chantana said it was also a crime to physically attack those with opposing beliefs. Therefore, the authorities needed to bring the wrongdoers to justice and ensure people’s freedom of expression was protected.

“We need to respect people across the political spectrum and live with those who have diverse ideologies. We can debate and defend our beliefs but it must not escalate into discrimination and violence,” she stressed.

Thammasat University’s Peace Information Centre director Chaiwat Satha-Anand also warned that some political hardliners’ efforts to devalue their opponents’ dignity and human rights in order to justify the discrimination against them, was very dangerous and could lead to terrifying violence.

Chaiwat said it was essential that people treated everyone else with respect and dignity, regardless of whether they shared the same beliefs.

Veteran journalist Vanchai Tantivitayapitak emphasized the influential role that the media had to play to mend the deep political rifts in society and prevent violent conflicts.

“Due to the shifting media landscape and political situation, many media organisations are now openly aligning themselves with political groups, so they are also responsible for the disunity and hatred in society,” he said.

“The journalists are now forced by the policy of their organisations’ owners to abandon professional objective journalism and instead produce dramatized and often biased news reports to attract audiences. That only serves to further polarise political ideas and foster hatred towards people who have different political standpoints.”

Therefore, he urged media organisations to stop being a mouthpiece for political groups and return to professional journalism so as to ease social discord and restore their companies’ credibility.

Deputy Government Spokesman Lt-General Weerachon Sukhonthapatipak said the rumours of the cash gift were spread on social media and the false information had prompted many state welfare holders to visit their banks to make enquiries about the scheme.

The government has issued state welfare cards to those who have registered themselves as low-income people.

The spokesman said the government has no plans to provide more cash to the card holders apart from the monthly allowance for cost of living and transport.

He said the government will soon open a new round of registration for low-income people eligible for state welfare.

The list indicates that Prawit, who is also the deputy prime minister, would hold the defence portfolio in tandem with Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha in the new government.

Commenting on media rumours that he would not be handed the defence portfolio in the Prayut II government, Prawit denied any knowledge of the list but said his eight years in the post were long enough.

Prawit has had two spells as Defence Minister, for two years and 232 days during the Abhisit Vejjajiva government and for more than five years under the current administration.

“I don’t know either whether I will continue to hold the post of deputy prime minister since my health is now poor,” he said.

Prawit is seen as the “elder brother” among the three junta leaders of the junta National Council for Peace and Order, commanding the respect of Prayut and Interior Minister Gen Anupong Pao-chinda.

Prawit also said he shared the view of Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam that the Prayut II government would be an “iron ship”.

Chatumongol was reacting to speculation that he would be given the post of PM’s Office minister in the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. Initially, it was speculated that Chatumongol, a former governor of the Bank of Thailand, would be given the post of foreign minister.

Chatumongol, who is party-list MP of his party, said it would be fine for him to be given any post because his party did not put any conditions for joining the Phalang Pracharat-led coalition government.

He said his party simply wanted to help the work of Prayut and his believed that the negotiators of the two parties have done their best in allocating a Cabinet seat to his party.

He said he submitted a form verifying his qualifications without stating which post he would be appointed to.

Chatumongol said he used to help a PM’s Office minister when he was a member of a working panel of the Council of State and he was well aware that the work such a post entails would not be easy.

He said he has learned from reports that there would be two PM’s Office ministers and did not know how the responsibilities would be shared between them.

Commenting on the perception that the post of PM’s Office minister would not be appropriate for him as he used to work as the central bank governor, Chatumongol said he would have no problem working in the post if the prime minister felt it was appropriate for him.

“I believe the prime minister is able to consider which job is appropriate for me,” Chatumongol said.

He said he supported the incumbent Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to remain in the post because Don had shown a “good performance” in holding the Asean summit. He said the same foreign minister should continue while Thailand was the chair of Asean.

“I will be surprised if the post is changed,’ Chatumongol added.

He added that he would consult the party as to whether he should vacate his party-list MP seat for another candidate in the list.

That proposal might be useful in ensuring that the number of coalition MPs present in the assembly hall would not be affected. There is concern that House meetings could be disrupted if ministers, who are also MPs, are busy with work outside given that the Prayut coalition has only a slim majority.

Amnesty International (Thailand) submitted an open letter to Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan and the National Police chief calling for an investigation into the attacks on Sirawith, aka “Ja New”, Anurak “Ford the Red Path” Jentawanich and Ekachai Hingkangwan.

The three pro-democracy campaigners have been attacked several times.

In the letter, Amnesty International also pushed for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for activists.

“The scale of the attacks against political activists and human-rights defenders in Thailand is alarming,” said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s regional director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. “Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the safety and security of these and other activists and urges the authorities to take all necessary steps to protect them from harm,” he added.

The letter was accepted on Prawit and the National Police chief’s behalf by deputy chief of Special Branch Police, Pol Maj-General Tanai Apichatseni.

Amnesty International’s move was prompted by the attack on Sirawith last Friday, which left him in intensive care for a broken nose, an injured eye socket and other severe injuries to the body.

The four men who assaulted the activist are still at large, and while the public has voiced concerns that the attack was ordered by the powers-that-be considering his activism against an undemocratic regime, the government responded, saying it was a personal matter perpetrated by a loan shark.

Sirawith’s mother Patnari Chankit also submitted a letter on Wednesday to the opposition bloc demanding justice for her son, who was beaten up twice last month. She also insisted that Sirawith had no problems with anyone, and nor does he owe money to a loan shark, adding that it was only his political activism that could have got him in trouble.

“I’m convinced this is linked to politics,” she said. “I want the House of Representatives to push for the protection of every pro-democracy activist and quickly launch legal actions against the perpetrators.”

Opposition MPs led by Pheu Thai’s Chonlanan Srikieo launched a motion in the House on Wednesday, calling on Prawit, who is in charge of security affairs, to respond to questions. However, the deputy PM directed the questions to Deputy Defence Minister General Chaichan Changmongkol instead.

The opposition has also decided to launch a motion to set up a committee to probe the attacks on people with differing political opinions. This motion is expected to be launched in the House next week.

The PM said the schedule was still within the time frame under a “road map” set after the military coup of 2014.

“I affirm that a new government will be completely formed during July, definitely, in line with the road map,” Prayut said.

He noted that under the Constitution, a government can start operating as soon as its members have taken an oath before His Majesty the King.

The PM’s remarks came after criticism that disputes between coalition parties and factions within the leading coalition partner, Phalang Pracharat, are behind the PM’s failure to form a government in the three months since the March 24 general election.

He was speaking at Government House, where about 200 young Thais living in the US and their parents visited Prayut, accompanied by Mungkorn Pratoomkaew, the Thai consul general in Los Angeles.

The visit was part of a government programme, held annually for the 12th time this year, which brings young Thais living in the US back to Thailand to get familiarised with their home country.

Prayut told the group that Thailand had maintained good ties with the US ever since the two countries signed an amity treaty 286 years ago.

He said that American companies had invested US$7 billion (Bt217 billion) in Thailand in businesses that hired more than 70,000 workers. The PM also noted that about 7,000 Thais are currently studying in the US and that about 500,000 Thai expats live in the US.

One woman among the visitors congratulated General Prayut for his return as prime minister.

He jokingly replied: “Why didn’t you ask me if I was happy about it?” before confirming that he was indeed happy to be able to serve Thailand.

Viroj had to step down because he does not qualify as opposition leader because he did not run in the elections. The Constitution requires the opposition leader to also be an MP.

His resignation will be effective from Wednesday onwards.

The party will meet next Friday to select new executives.

It has been speculated that MP Sompong Amornvivat will replace Viroj, while Phumtham Wechayachai will continue as party secretary-general.

Tickets for the banquet were sold for Bt3 million per table, raising questions about the event’s lawfulness in the constitution.

The concern was especially timely, given that anti-junta party Future Forward was prohibited by the EC from selling souvenirs online around the same time last year, ruling them unlawful.

EC secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma said on Tuesday that Phalang Pracharat’s fundraising dinner was not illegal because although the ticket prices were high, the organisers were competent enough to charge them.

Jarungvith further explained that the law did not impose a cap on how much supporters could fund a political party, so no action would be taken against Phalang Pracharat over the fundraiser.

Four other cases were brought to the EC by pro-Shinawatra politician Ruangkrai Leekitwatana regarding Phalang Pracharat and its politicians but all were dismissed.

They were the petition to dissolve Phalang Pracharat for illegally nominating Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as its PM candidate, the case that Prayut was a state official and could not be a candidate for PM, the case that Prayut’s social media accounts could be seen as making him the owner of media companies and thus disqualified, and the case against Phalang Pracharat leader Uttama Savanayana’s potentially illegal leadership.