Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is due to lead the cabinet in receiving a message from His Majesty the King at Government House on Tuesday, in an event believed to be linked with the recent controversy over the swearing-in of the cabinet, according to an internal formal schedule circulated on Monday.
The itinerary obtained by the media states that His Majesty the King has issued a written message together with his signature for Gen Prayut and the cabinet ministers, which will be read out at Government House today.
In the schedule, mention was made of the previous cabinet swearing-in ceremony which took place at Ambara Villa at Dusit Palace on July 16.
According to the document, cabinet ministers are to assemble at 8.45am in a room on the fifth floor of Government House's command building.
At 9am, Gen Prayut will present ceremonial offerings before the portrait of His Majesty the King. The King's message will be placed on a tray to be received by the prime minister who will then lead cabinet members in giving statements in reply after its reading.
Gen Prayut, meanwhile, declined to comment on today's ceremony. "If I spoke about it, it would take away all the excitement," the premier said.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam explained that today's ceremony is not a re-swearing of the oath by Gen Prayut and his cabinet.
However, Mr Wissanu admitted that the ceremony is unprecedented, and stopped short of answering the question of whether the ceremony will make the upcoming parliamentary debate on the oath gaffe redundant.
The exceptional event being held on Tuesday comes after Gen Prayut found himself in trouble for failing to recite the final sentence of Section 161 of the charter, which requires the oath-taker to uphold and abide by the constitution, in the previous oath-taking ceremony which was presided over by His Majesty the King.
