“From tomorrow, my friends can talk to me at Line account @mark_abhisit,” Abhisit said in a short introductory video clip.

The freshly-opened chat room does not yet contain news and updates but some can be expected today, when Abhisit will celebrate his 53rd birthday.

The official Line account, which allows users to enjoy one-on-one conversations, has been widely used for commercial purposes, although Abhisit appears to be the first Thai politician to make use of it.

Politicians have been administratively inactive since the 2014 coup, which means they have to do more to keep themselves in the limelight.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are among popular channels used by politicians.

Abhisit’s Facebook page got as many as 2.3 million “likes” with recent updates on his trips to heavily-flooded Sakon Nakhon.

That’s almost three times less than Yingluck Shinawatra from the rival Pheu Thai Party. The ex-PM, who is due to hear her court verdict later this month, got six million “likes”.

Her brother, ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, also outnumbered Abhisit, with 2.5 million “likes” on his page.

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has no official online account. The retired general enjoys traditional communications, such as televised programme every week.

Tillerson is scheduled to meet Prayut on Tuesday with a focus on bilateral talks, including Prayut’s yet-to-be-scheduled visit to the White House, a government source told The Nation yesterday.

The Department of State announced that Tillerson would travel to Manila, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur from Saturday to Wednesday for Asean ministerial meetings and to enhance bilateral ties.

“Secretary Tillerson will travel to Thailand to pay respects to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and engage Thai officials on the enduring US-Thailand partnership and regional issues,” according to spokesperson Heather Nauert.

The discussions between Prayut and Tillerson are expected to restore bilateral relations as well as make preparations for celebrations of the 200th anniversary of diplomatic ties to be held next year, the source said.

It should also see progress in arrangements for Prayut’s meeting with Trump following Trump’s invitation made during a phone call in April, he said.

Prayut’s trip to the US was initially set for late July but has been delayed due to what the Thai government called “unsettling mutual choices of date”.

However, diplomatic sources said Washington wanted to take more time for both leaders to make their meeting produce a meaningful outcome amid changes in regional circumstances due to the problems on the Korean Peninsula and the contentious South China Sea issue.

Deputy Government spokesperson Lt-General Werachon Sukondhapatipak said recently that while the meeting would surely take place, he could not confirm whether it would happen this year.

The Commerce Ministry, Foreign Ministry and other agencies have been preparing for the talks. Military chiefs have also taken stock of US-made military hardware to inform Prayut ahead of his meeting with Trump.

Prayut planned to discuss issues such as trade and investment, intellectual property, security matters and human trafficking, Werachon added.

Last month, the two countries held the 6th Thailand-US Strategic Dialogue in Washington DC, where delegates discussed stability in the South China Sea, and economic and security cooperation, but failed to produce any concrete outcomes.

At the Asean talks in Manila, Tillerson will meet with his counterparts to discuss a range of issues including the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, maritime security and counterterrorism, Nauert said.

THE AIR Force on Tuesday won the Cabinet’s nod for its Bt3.2-billion upgrade programme for its fleet of 14 F-5T Tigris jet fighters, some of which have been in service since the late 1970s.

Under the latest programme, four aircraft would be overhauled and 10 would be fitted with radar and related equipment.

The upgrades would bring these veteran attack aircraft close to the capabilities of newer jet fighters such as the Swedish Gripen or even the larger F-16 models.

Air Force spokesman Air Vice Marshal Pongsak Semachai said the Bt3.2-billion budget is for the second and final phase of modernisation after the first phase costing about Bt2 billion was completed in 2014 for 10 jets. Due to the limited budget, radar improvements for these 10 aircraft were not included.

The Air Force needs Cabinet endorsement for a spending programme of more than Bt1 billion.

The upgrades will give the aircraft better performance and greater accuracy in firing its weapons.

The F5, introduced in the early 1960s by the US Air Force, has long been familiar to Thais and citizens of other countries that are allies of the United States.

Produced by Northrop Corp, the aircraft were popular arms exports in the older days due to their low price and operating cost.

Thailand acquired 20 of the first 45 original F-5 aircraft from 1979-80, so they are relatively old.

However, they have already gone through two major upgrades over the past decades to keep them in fighting condition.

The first batch of 20 F-5E/F fighters were stationed in the southern province of Surat Thani from 1979-80, while five F-5Es were added to the battalion in 1988.

In 1981, 20 F-5Es and F-5Fs were dispatched to the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani.

To keep them up-to-date, they underwent a major upgrade every 10 years. The first was in 1989 for 39 aircraft. The long-range Python-3 air-to-air missile system was also installed to boost the aircrafts’ combat capabilities.

While the F-5 jet fighters were well-received among US allies in Asia and other regions, they were never used in combat by the US.

From 2000 to 2003, 27 F-5Es and four F-5Fs were given the second major upgrade by an Israeli firm.

Of them, 16 had their safety system enhanced while 15 saw a second major upgrade to boost combat capabilities.

These 15 aircraft were significantly modified and renamed F-5T Tigris with sophisticated computer and weapon systems, including the Python-4 missile system.

While many of these aircraft were supposed to retire some time ago, the Air Force decided a few years ago to help save the state’s budget following a major flood by extending the lifespan of the remaining aircraft with another major upgrade.

The bill was the first organic law passed by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), in early June, but the EC raised objections about its constitutionality, including the point concerning the total reconstitution of the current EC.

A joint law review committee was set up to review the bill, but it endorsed the NLA version following which the NLA voted to affirm the law. The EC petitioned the Constitutional Court following the possible legal channels left for it to pursue.

However, Constitutional Court secretary-general Pimol Thammapitakpong said on Wednesday that the court by a majority vote decided not to take up the EC’s petition.

Pimol said in the court’s view, the bill was still a draft that had not come into effect. Under the new charter, only the prime minister and the NLA are allowed to file such a petition. Agencies, like the EC, could file a petition only when the bill has become a law, he added.

Addressing the right of some EC members to petition the court as individuals, the court said it would follow certain guidelines to consider a request, Pimol said. The court is also in the process of overhauling its law and it would consider any petition on a case-by-case basis, as it is concerned about excessive use of authority that would affect other agencies, he added.

Wissanu said the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC) would have to set up a new agency to explain to state officials what can be or not be done under this new law.

The law, he said, was different to existing laws dealing directly with corruptionm, adding that conflict of interest had been something of a grey area to this point.

He said state officials would be prohibited from any acts deemed to be conflicts of interest, ranging from taking gifts beyond a certain value (which would be determined in the law) to using their power to favour particular entities in state projects or cases involving the state.

Penalties would cover the officials’ partners, parents, children and siblings.

Meanwhile, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has acknowledged the updated report concerning the return to their positions to officials once subject to inquiries into corruption allegations.

The NCPO has issued eight orders to suspend or transfer 353 officials from various government agencies, paving the way for inquiries.

At least 34 officials have been found not guilty and should be able to return to their offices. Another 72 were found guilty and would face severe disciplinary action, including dismissal.

The rest were still under inquiry, either by their own offices or the NACC, said government spokesperson Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

According to the Sirikan-affiliated Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group, the allegation followed her filing a complaint of malfeasance in office against Pol Lt-General Chayapol Chatchayadetch and other police officers for illegally impounding her car on the night of June 27, 2015.

At that time, she was among legal representatives for 14 student activists from the New Democracy Movement (NDM) who were arrested after staging peaceful protests against the military-installed government.

The NDM activists were charged with sedition and breaking the junta’s ban on political gatherings of five or more people.

Without a court warrant, the police officers, led by Chayapol, requested permission to search Sirikan’s car to confiscate the activists’ mobile phones. She refused, resulting in the police impounding her car containing the phones, case files and personal computers.

The following afternoon, she went to police station to file a complaint of malfeasance regarding the seizure of her car against Chayapol and other officials. Officers initially refused to take the complaint, but it was eventually accepted.

In February last year, she was accused of refusing to comply with authorities and concealing properties to be sent as evidence. She received a summons last month.

On Wednesday, Sirikan, who has constantly denied the charges against her, was released after reporting to police on grounds that her charge was a petty offense and she had cooperated with police by turning herself in.

Srivara said the police plan, called Korakot, was the right course to take, but police were waiting for additional requests from the court, if any.

He urged supporters of court defendants to adhere to the laws and to court procedures. The police would not stop them from coming to provide moral support, but they must follow the laws, he said.

On Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court dismissed charges against former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, his deputy and former police officials regarding the dispersal of a yellow-shirt protest in 2008. Some yellow shirts who came to hear the ruling were upset and shouted at the defendants as they left the court.

And on Tuesday, Yingluck had made a closing statement at the court, where she recieved support from hundreds of her supporters. The police had applied the Korakot security plan to ensure security around the court compound,  where hundreds of Yingluck’s supporters travelled from regional areas to hear her closing statement on her case concerning the rice pledging scheme, alleged of causing huge damage to the state.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said that the country needed someone who specialised in security and defence issues to take care of its business at this time.

He will succeed outgoing NSC chief Thawip Netniyom.

Thawip said there should not be any internal opposition to this appointment despite the fact that General Wanlop would be transferred from the Defence Ministry to take up the post at the NSC.

Somkiat Sriprasert, the NSC’s deputy secretary-general who was previously tipped to be the candidate for the top job, would be appointed to a position befitting his capabilities, Thawip added.

The court’s Criminal Division on Political Office Holders ruled that the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) siege of the Parliament compound, undertaken to impede a Cabinet policy announcement, had not been non-violent since some protesters carried offensive weapons.

As a result, the countering action ordered by then-police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan and then-metropolitan police chief Pol Lt Gen Suchart Muankaew was legitimate, ensuring the security of people and state property, the court said.

It ruled that Somchai and the police chiefs were unaware of any possible danger posed by the use of teargas. Nor was there any evidence to show they intended to injure the demonstrators.

The court said it could not be concluded that the defendants were negligent or guilty of malfeasance in their duties, as alleged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Then-deputy premier Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was also acquitted on all charges because he had resigned from the post that morning, before the dispersal took place which resulted in a number of casualties.

PAD members were upset with the ruling, some shouting “murderers” at the defendants as they left the courtroom.

PRIME MINISTER General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday rejected allegations by former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, insisting that he had never interfered in the judicial process as she alleged during her closing remarks to the Supreme Court yesterday.

Yingluck earlier said in court that junta chief Prayut, who staged a coup to topple her government three years ago, had implied in a recent statement that she was guilty in the case relating to her government’s rice-pledging scheme, otherwise she would never have been brought to court.

Prayut said yesterday the junta government had only provided testimony as witnesses for the plaintiff, which is the government itself.

“I never led [the decision] of the court. I don’t have to order them,” the premier said. “The judicial system is always independent. They have inspected the issues based on facts and they’ve finished.”

Yingluck is accused of negligence and malfeasance for allegedly ignoring corruption related to the rice-pledging scheme conducted while she was in office, despite a warning from the Office of the Auditor-General.

She rejected the charges, saying her government had to implement the policy because it had been approved by Parliament and measures had been taken to prevent corruption in the scheme.

By invoking his absolute power under Article 44 of the interim charter, Prayut issued an order in November 2015 regarding legal and disciplinary action against officials involved in managing government rice stockpiles and releasing stocks.

Yingluck said the action had singled out policy-makers in her Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Prayut suggested that there should not be public criticism regarding the case. “Let the court do its work. It [the court] has to follow legal procedures right away so please don’t criticise much,” he said.

Asked whether the final verdict against Yingluck later this month could spark political turmoil, Prayut replied: “It is not up to me. It’s up to people and politicians whether they want to return to the same old conflicts.”

Hundreds of Yingluck’s supporters yesterday gathered at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders where 300 riot police were deployed to maintain order.

Security response

National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda said he was not concerned about the political situation leading up to judgement day on August 25, when a verdict in the case is expected.

There have not been any reports indicating mass mobilisation on the day of the verdict, he said, but he added that deputy police chief General Srivara Rangsipramanakul had been assigned to evaluate the situation and decide whether to adjust security plans.

The police chief said relevant agencies were communicating and building mutual understanding with the leaders of Yingluck’s supporters. “Intelligence officials are also monitoring [their movements],” he said.

Chakthip added that police estimated that fewer than 1,000 people had shown up yesterday in front of the Supreme Court to show support for Yingluck.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to rule today in the case involving Yingluck’s brother-in-law, former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat of the now defunct People’s Power Party, and his former deputies and top-ranking police officers regarding his government’s crackdown on People’s Alliance for Democracy protesters in 2008.

Somchai’s case is seen as an indicator for Yingluck, which could affect whether she will appeal her case if the court rules against her.

However, there are different legal opinions about what could happen in such a scenario. Meechai Ruchupan, the chief drafter of the present charter, has said she would have a constitutional right to appeal, while the camp led by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam has argued that she could appeal only after a new law on the court’s procedures comes into force.