“I never think about the proportion [of military and civilian officers in the Cabinet],” he said. “Why? Do you mind the military that much?”

The yet-to-be-publicised list has already been finalised, the PM reiterated.

The fourth reshuffle of Prayut’s three-year-old Cabinet follows his announcement earlier this month of a shake-up shortly after General Sirichai Distakul abruptly resigned from his position as labour minister.

There has been speculation that the reshuffle will also revamp the Cabinet’s economy-related ministerial line-up.

Prayut had also said that he was considering reducing the number of military officers in the Cabinet and outnumbering them with civilian ministers.

However, his senior and close military aides are not expected to be cast out of the Cabinet, as the premier said last week that his deputy and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda and Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya would remain following the reshuffle.

He did not clarify whether they would stay in their current posts or be shifted to other positions.

“A man in uniform is the last person who would rely on using force to solve the problem [of North Korea],” Sawyer told a group of journalist in Pattaya.

Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests are a major security threat to all nations, not only in the region but all over the world, he said.

The US 7th Fleet commander has been in Thailand since Saturday for the Asean International Fleet Review to mark the 50th anniversary of the regional group. The US guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney participated in the event yesterday together with 39 other ships from countries in the Indo-Pacific region including Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan and members of Asean.

The international fleet review, hosted by the Royal Thai Navy, fostered strong partnerships to ensure peace and stability in the region as well as cooperation among international naval fleets, Sawyer said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over a parade of 18 warships yesterday in Pattaya.

Prayut claimed that his government’s ability to keep the country “calm and peaceful” was why Thailand had been trusted to host the international parade. “They didn’t see conflicting movements on the roads, so they call came here,” he said.

Sawyer said the contentious issue of the South China Sea was also important for regional security, because the US and other countries needed freedom of navigation in passing through disputed areas.

Many Asean members have been at loggerheads with China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea for years. Tension has risen since China and other claimants built artificial islands and facilities on reefs and shoals that could be used for military purposes.

The US is not a claimant in the contentious sea, but Sawyer said freedom of navigation in the disputed areas should be guaranteed. The commander called for all parties to respect standards and norms of practice in accordance with international laws, notably the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

China, which is now increasing its naval power in the Indo-Pacific, could also play a significant role in guaranteeing freedom of navigation as well as norms of practice in the sea in accordance with international laws and Unclos, he said.

The US Navy has both cooperated and competed with the Chinese navy, but cooperation would be preferred to help maintain peace and stability in the region, he said.

The US Navy, notably the 7th Fleet which oversees the Indo-Pacific, wants to continue to engage and cooperate with partners in the region, including Asean and other countries, Sawyer said. He added that China was also welcome on board.

The US Navy conducts many joint exercises with Thailand, such as the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise, and wants to boost the Royal Thai Navy’s capacity.

Nikorn Chamnong, the party’s director, explained that the bill is one of four organic laws essential to organise the general election. According to the charter, the election must be held within 150 days of the enactment of all four laws.

Enacted last month, the political party bill raises concerns among politicians as its Article 141 requires parties to report any change of membership to a not-yet-appointed registrar within 90 days of its enactment.

The deadline will be in early January, but no party has been able to file its report because they are restrained by the junta order that bans political gatherings of five or more people.

Amending the law could allow parties more time to prepare themselves but would also bring even more delays to the election, Nikorn added.

Yesterday at the Government Complex in Bangkok, Nikorn met with Anek Laothamatas, who leads the junta-appointed political reform committee, for discussions on paving reform plans as part of a legally binding long-term strategy.

Anek is also due to meet key figures from Bhumjaithai Party today, Democrat Party and Chart Pattana Party tomorrow, and Pheu Thai Party next Tuesday.

The first political reform draft should be finished by next month, he said. Then, it would be forwarded to 10 other reform committees to be amended, before being submitted to the national strategy committee so it can be merged with the 20-year national strategy plan. This should all be done by next April.

Abhisit said it’s natural that the media would make comments on the work quality of ministers subject to speculation, and the best solution to end criticism was announcing the reshuffle.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should finish this as soon as possible and any changes to his Cabinet should be based on the government’s policies and directives, not anyone’s favours, Abhisit said.

Any criticism that has arisen can be taken into consideration, as it could help reflect on the government’s work, he said.

Abhisit emphasised that there should be changes in the economic team, saying the “same old idea” of injecting money into the system has not yielded a fruitful result.

Wissanu said the Cabinet Secretariat Office would review the new ministers’ qualifications, but for those running businesses, they should clarify their interests to the office.

Speculation over ministerial changes in a Cabinet reshuffle – the fifth during Prayut’s administration – heightened with the PM confirming on Friday that he had finalised his reshuffle and that the list was in the process of seeking royal endorsement.

The matter is expected to be settled by next month, he added.

Prayut has said his military senior classmates Deputy PM and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan and Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda, and his close friend Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya, will remain in the Cabinet.

The formula has been devised by the Election Commission (EC) itself, he said, adding that the agency would be in charge of the whole election process.

His remarks came after the CDC and the EC last Friday held a press conference explaining how the calculation for establishing the number of seats each party had in the House of Representatives worked.

This prompted concern that the sophisticated method devised by the electoral agency could cause confusion and have a negative impact on the national poll.

Some people have also raised the issue of instability in the next government as a result of the calculation method.

As the mixed-member apportionment or single-ballot system would make it difficult for any party to be an outright winner, a coalition government formed after the election could be weak, observers fear.

Meechai, however, dismissed such speculation, insisting that if a party managed to win masses of votes, they would have a bigger share of seats in the House.

However, he acknowledged that in the event that the leading party already had more constituency MPs than its apportioned share, then its party-list MPs would not have any seats in the House.

The CDC chief insisted that the new election system would truly reflect the people’s wishes.

In any constituency where the majority of voters abstained, the poll would be null and void, and all candidates would be banned from recontesting in that constituency, he added.

The chief charter-drafter also said the organic bill on MPs, which deals with the new election method, had not yet been completed.

It is being deliberated alongside the organic bill on the Senate in order to ensure that the provisions in the two pieces of legislation are properly coordinated and do not pose practical problems when they are enacted, he explained.

Abhisit Vejjajiva (Democrat Party), Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan (Pheu Thai), Nikorn Chamnon ( Chartthai Pattana), Anutin Charnvirakul (Bhumjaithai) and Suwat Liptapanlop (Chart Pattana) are all set to meet with the committee next week.

Anek Laothamatas, president of the junta-appointed committee, said yesterday that his panel would seek the politicians’ opinions before finalising the first draft of their political reform plan.

Among issues to feature highly in the discussions, Anek said, would be meritocracy, fair elections, building a political culture and public participation under the constitutional monarchy, conflict resolution by peaceful means, unity building, decentralisation in local governance and a fair distribution of resources.

The talks would also fall under the national reforms required in the 2017 charter, he added.

The Constitution requires that the current junta-backed government work on the long-term national strategy to “set goals” for the country. It will abide by future governments, who will have to report to Parliament on their follow-up on the strategy plan.

Any government that fails to do so could risk legal punishment.

The government has established a strategy committee, involving several Army generals, as well as several reform committees, with many members who have a record of working with previous junta-appointed bodies.Rames Ratanachaweng

Meanwhile, Democrat Party deputy spokesperson Rames Ratanachaweng called for the junta to once again seek ways for political parties affected by the junta’s ban on political gatherings of five or more people.

The order, which has been enforced since the 2014 coup, has severely hampered political parties, including preparing themselves for the new political bill.

PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha has previously said the ban would remain despite the fact that the bill requires specific deadlines for parties to follow since its enactment last month

Prayut then promised that “one way or another” the deadlines could be expanded either by the parties making special requests to not-yet-appointed registrars or by him invoking his special powers under Article 44.

However, Rames said yesterday that political parties were still powerless because the Election Commission had also said that it could not allow parties to follow the bill’s Article 141 since the ban was still in place.

Article 141 requires that all parties notify changes of members in their registration lists within 90 days of the law being enacted, or October 7. “It is more than 40 days and they should provide more clarification,” he added.

Meanwhile, Government Spokesperson Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd yesterday urged |people to “stop speculating” about the Cabinet reshuffle and to have faith in Prayut, who had handpicked the new Cabinet members. “Guessing will only discourage those ministers and the government,” Sansern said.

Prayut said on Friday that he had finalised his Cabinet list and it was in the process of seeking royal endorsement. He expected everything to be settled by next month.

Though the official list has not yet been publicised, there has been some speculation, mostly concerning generals who are ministers and those related to the economy.

This is despite the determination of the regime and its drafters to make corruption fighting their main agenda, keep away corrupt politicians, and make politics clean. The new organic law governing the NACC stipulates that the agency should only publish a summary of the assets and liability lists of political office holders, including Cabinet members and judges of the Constitutional Court.

The practice has been scaled down from the previous law, which demanded the NACC share the full and complete list with the public as well as the media so they could also participate in scrutinising their government.

And for the record, a number of politicians have been scrutinised by the public through this means. The late veteran politician Maj-General Sanan Kachornprasart was one of them. He was ousted from his interior minister post and banned from politics for five years for making a false declaration of assets.

Regardless, some members of the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), who have been responsible for drafting the controversial draft, explained the new approach places importance on protecting the privacy of office-holders.

After all they are not accused of any wrongdoing, drafters said. They are just required by the law to report their assets and liability, they explained.

“So, publishing the asset lists to the public was not appropriate,” a drafter who asked not to be named said. “We have to sympathise with those who have to report the lists because [they can be too detailed].”

“The transparency should not be affected because the NACC still had the authority to look into the assets and liability lists,” he insisted. “But the reporting people should be regarded, too. Is there anything to protect them? So, the scrutiny must have its balance.”

Another drafter explained that it was also about the constitutionality. The new Constitution only stipulates that the NACC disclose “the result” of the scrutiny, not the full list as prescribed by the obsolete 2007 charter, he said.

It would be up to the NACC to decide how much of the list they would publicise, he said. However, he argued, if the new organic law had the exact same stipulation as its predecessor, then it might go against the Constitution.

So it’s reasonable to understand why people in the graft-busting circle might be concerned that the practice would weaken public scrutiny of political office holders. They believed that the public could actually help be a watchdog as they have more eyes and ears than a handful of busy officials.

But the controversial organic bill sailed through the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) in the first reading early this month. It is now being groomed by a vetting committee of 35 members. Two of them have ongoing fraud cases before the NACC, sparking off even more controversy.The National Legislative Assembly

NACC chairman Pol General Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, who is also sitting on the vetting committee, said that he did not think the old practice was inappropriate although it could draw attention from people with ill intentions to the people declaring their assets.

Hence, the NACC would propose to the committee that the old approach be maintained, but may find another way to conceal some information that could be misused against office-holders.

Sharing his personal opinion, Watcharapol said that the previous law aimed to allow public participation in the scrutiny. And if the people wishing to represent the public interest wanted to demonstrate their sincerity, they should avoid providing inadequate detail that would make scrutiny difficult, he said.

He also said the committee was mulling over the stipulation in the new charter that prescribed that the NACC should publish the “result” of the scrutiny and would decide how to interpret it. It is up to the committee and the NLA how the bill would turn out, he said.

The draft bill has been controversial as its provision requires only a publication of the summary of assets declared by political office holders and commissioners of independent bodies instead of a detailed report.

The bill has already passed the first reading by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) earlier this month and is currently being revised by an ad hoc committee before returning to the table again for the second and third readings.

In the proposals to be submitted, Watcharapol said he would stick to the old model but with more confidentiality clauses to ensure that they would not be misused by outsiders.

The CDC should help reconsider the provision and their proposals to ensure that all are in line with the current Constitution, whose provisions are aimed at promoting transparency and accountability.

“Too little publicised information will only make public scrutiny of them impossible,” the president said.