The Deputy PM said the Royal Cremation ceremony has just finished, and it was not the time to discuss the issue.

The government would consider past actions and cooperation it had received from all concerned before taking further action in regard to lifting the political ban, he said, referring to some “disturbing moves” by some parties.

Speculation that the ban would be lifted on November 1 was not confirmed, Prawit said.

Yingluck, who is reportedly in the United Kingdom, was sentenced to five years in jail for her negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme before the 2014 coup.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders convicted her in absentia and announced her prison sentence on September 27. The law allows her to appeal within 30 days of the date of the verdict delivery, but she would have to launch the appeal in person from inside Thailand.

“We have not yet received contact from her, therefore we did not make any request to the court to extend the period of appeal,” said her lawyer Norawit Lalang. “As we did not make an appeal, the case is technically final.”

Yingluck fled the country a few days before the court had originally been due to deliver its verdict on August 25 and Norawit said he had received no contact from his client since then.

The court issued an arrest warrant following her failure to turn up in August and delivered its verdict in absentia when she again missed her court appearance on September 27.

‘Location unknown’

State prosecutor Surasak Tritrattrakul said that since neither of the involved parties had made any appeals to the court, the case was now final and authorities would enforce the verdict to compel Yingluck to serve her sentence.

However, Yingluck’s location is still unknown, authorities have said. Local media reports, citing unnamed sources, have said she is in London, where her brother Thaksin Shinawatra has a home. While some reports said she was seeking political asylum in the UK, Thai officials were unable to verify the claim.

Police have said they have asked cooperation from Interpol to force Yingluck to be returned to Thailand to serve her sentence but there still remained no clear clues about her whereabouts.

The junta has shifted blame for her disappearance to a police officer. Pol Colonel Chairit Anurit of the Metropolitan Police allegedly drove Yingluck to Sa Kaew province on August 23 and has been dismissed from duty.

This follows a police fact-finding committee’s ruling that the officer committed a grave disciplinary offence. He had also committed a lesser breach of the code of conduct for illegal use of a vehicle, the committee ruled.

Yingluck is not the only person convicted in the controversial case – ministers in her cabinet and many senior government officials were found to be involved in the fraud, which cost the country hundreds of billions of baht.

Yingluck’s former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom was jailed for 42 years and former deputy commerce minister Phumi Saraphol was sentenced to 36 years.

Both men have submitted appeals to the court.

The PM urged people to follow the work up and support the government.

People should help change the country for the better, he said, adding that for its part the government would try its very best to solve all problems.

Reform is among the crucial work addressed since the military-led government took office in mid-2014.

It was first taken up by the junta-appointed National Reform Council, which developed the reform blueprint, which was further worked on by the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA).

The NRSA was recently dissolved following the promulgation of the new national reform law over a month ago.

The new law created 13 reform committees working on reform in 13 crucial sectors, from politics to the environment.

They are obliged to submit their reform plans to the government by December, before implementation in the next five years.

The panels’ reform plans must also be in line with the new national 20-year strategy.

This follows a police fact-finding committee’s ruling that the officer committed a grave disciplinary offence.

The police colonel had also committed a lesser breach of the code of conduct for illegal use of a vehicle, the committee ruled.

Pol Maj-General Charnthep Sesavej, deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police, said yesterday that he would sign a paper to dismiss the officer first, then a disciplinary committee would be set up to determine his exact penalties.

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Friday passed the organic law governing the OAG, endorsing its authority to probe anti-corruption officials, although some revision was made to clauses in the previous draft.

A proposal to grant authority to the auditor-general to conduct an initial investigation into officials of the NACC was the major point of concern during the draft organic law’s deliberation by the NLA.

Legislators eventually agreed to revise the clauses to limit the auditor-general’s role to “notifying” the NACC if any irregularities involving anti-corruption officials were discovered during the OAG’s audit work.

The revised clauses would still allow the OAG to conduct an initial investigation, but it must be in line with the NACC’s rules and not affect the work of officials at the anti-graft agency.

If the agency’s work were affected, officials could petition to halt the probe and pass it on to the NACC.

Watcharapol said NACC officials had earlier opposed the proposal, as they deemed the unrevised version as potentially detrimental to them carrying out their work.

However, as the contentious clauses have been revised, the issue is now considered as being closed, he added.

In regard to the NACC draft bill, which will be deliberated by the NLA on November 2, the NACC wishes to see changes to the body’s work timeframe set by the new bill, as officials are concerned about the issue, as well as the proposed penalties for missing deadlines, its president stressed.

Watcharapol also said that in regard to two suspended cases against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the NACC was now in the process of submitting a request to the Supreme Court to resume the cases.

The cases in question were temporarily disposed of by the court under the old law governing procedures against political office holders, but can be resumed under the new version of the law.

The committee was set up as one of 13 panels in accordance with the junta’s charter that sets out its 20-year-reform plan for better governance of the country.

It met with Surasak’s ministry for the first time on Friday to exchange views on how they would best cooperate on the committee’s reform work.

Surasak also suggested the committee embrace His Majesty the Late King’s guidance over sustainable development as part of its reform plans.

Executive administration, he said, should also be set aside along with other reform elements to help drive reform efforts in future.

The committee has divided its reform work into six sub-sectors, covering land resources (land, mining, forests and wildlife), marine and coastal resources, water resources, biodiversity, environmental quality, plus natural resources and environmental management.

It is obliged to submit its plan to the government by December so that it can be implemented over the next five years.

The National Legislative Assembly on Friday passed the bill with the stipulation that former auditors general would not be able to apply for the post again.

However, Pisit said he is eligible to do so based on the National Council for Peace and Order 71/2557 that says a former auditor general can reapply for the post for another term. The order, he added, is still in effect.

Pisit said the way the law was drafted with retroactive effects on the application was unprecedented, and needed to be further reviewed by lawmakers.

“I will not withdraw myself from the application as there is not any prohibition against my act,” said Pisit, declining to say whether the draft of the law was specifically aimed to prevent him from taking the post again.

The NLA voted 170 to zero, with four abstentions, to endorse the bill and forward it to other agencies to review as to its constitutionality before final submission to the Cabinet.

A proposal to grant authority to the Auditor General to conduct an initial probe against officials of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) was the major point of concern in the deliberation. The legislators spent more than two hours arguing on this point alone.

The minority legislators viewed the NACC should be subject to potential review as a form of checks and balances to ensure transparency. Others argued that it would violate the agency’s independence and could affect the confidentiality of the case files it was handling.

In addition, NACC officials were held in check by The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases. More than 25 cases involving NACC officials have been heard in the Court, the legislators argued.

The NACC had even fired a senior official, they said. Protecting corrupt officials could lead to their conviction for misconduct, and as an anti-graft official, an NACC official found guilty would receive twice as much punishment.

As well, complaints against officials could be lodged with the Ombudsman, opponents of granting additional oversight by the OAG argued.

After much debate, legislators agreed to revise the clauses to limit the Auditor General’s role to “notifying” the NACC if any irregularities involving anti-corruption officials were discovered during their audit work.

The revised clauses would not still allow the OAG to conduct an initial investigation, but it must be in line with the NACC’s rules and not affect the officials’ work.

If the agency’s anti-graft work is affected, officials could petition to stop the probe and pass it on to the NACC.

The organic bill as passed also allows the OAG’s committee to take office before the law came into effect in order to complete their terms. Auditor General Pisit Leelavachirophas, however, would be exempted, as the bill does not allow the same person to take the top position twice.

“They won’t be typical toilets you can see everywhere,” said Army spokesperson Colonel Winthai Suvaree. “We believe that our donators wish everything in the park to be magnificently built, to be worthy of royalty.”

The facility will also be essential for welcoming thousands of visitors coming to the Prachuap Khiri Khan-based park each day, Winthai said.

The procurement process also followed a high standard and is transparent, he assured.

The Army Chief General Chalrmchai Sittisart asked: “How can it be wrong to build toilets and shops?”

Last December, the Army hired a private company to construct a building consisting of 52 restrooms, and five rooms for shops.

Now 80 per cent completed, the project is expected to be open next February.

The construction is subsidized by the Rajabhakti Park Foundation under Royal Patronage of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, according to the name registered in January last year.

When opened in 2015, the park itself faced controversy for alleged irregularities in construction budgets. Seven statutes of historical Thai Kings are the park’s key feature, and the budget for each king’s statue was set at Bt50 million, while the foundry said that a statue was actually worth Bt1 million.

Decorative palm trees were also set budgeted at Bt100,00 each. The palm breeder later revealed that the trees were actually donated.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission concluded that the royal project correctly followed all regulations in its September 2016 decision.