New five cabinet ministers taking oath of allegiance before HM the King on Monday

BANGKOK, Jan 18 (TNA) – Thailand’s five newly-appointed Cabinet ministers will take an oath of allegiance before His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Monday and begin work the following day.

The ministers are scheduled to voice the oath of allegiance before His Majesty the King at the Chalerm Prakiat Building in Siriraj Hospital, where the monarch has been receiving medical treatment, on Monday at 5.30pm.

They will begin their duties Tuesday by attending the weekly Cabinet meeting.

His Majesty the King on Friday gave his royal endorsement to the Cabinet reshuffle proposed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The minor Cabinet reshuffle saw Democrat party deputy leader and senior MP Trairong Suwankiri appointed deputy premier in charge of economic affairs to replace Korbsak Sabhavasu who resigned his post and was appointed secretary-general to the prime minister.

Government Chief Whip Chinnaworn Boonyakiat became education minister, succeeding Jurin Laksanawisit who took the reins of the public health ministry after Witthaya Kaewparadai resigned on December 29 to show responsibility for mismanagement of the ministry’s Bt86 billion procurement budget under the Thai Khemkhaeng (Strong Thailand) stimulus package.

Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nop-amornbodi resigned last week after initially resisting government pressure and the public outcry regarding the situation, and the Bhumjaithai Party’s Phansiri Kulnardsiridamrong took Mr Manit’s vacated post.

Mrs Phansiri is a sister of Somsak Thepsuthin, leader of the Matchimathipatai faction in the Bhumchaithai Party. The former executive of the former Thai Rak Thai Party was banned from politics for five years following the Constitution Court ruling to dissolve the party on grounds of election fraud.

Suchart Chokechaiwattanakorn was appointed deputy minister of transport after Prachak Kaewklaharn of the Bhumchaithai Party resigned Thursday. (TNA)