THAILAND - The political situation was back to normal - but it was necessary for the government to maintain the state of emergency for a time yet due to fears of fresh unrest, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

At the same time, observers see cracks in his ruling Democrat Party after the latest cabinet shake-up.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday, Abhisit said Thailand was back to normal, stable and secure.

It was the premier's first foreign trip since the riots and unrest sparked by the red-shirt group over the past two months. Abhisit had skipped all previous foreign trips, including an Asean summit in Hanoi in April, saying he would miss this one if the country had not returned to normalcy.

The Prime Minister said in his weekly television programme before leaving for Vietnam that his government would continue working on a five-point road map for national reconciliation. He vowed to set up an independent body to investigate the violence but was still unable to find a credible person to head it.

Abhisit and many key ministers, including his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban, who is in charge of security matters, survived a censure debate launched by the opposition Pheu Thai Party to grill them on the handling of the red protest.

The opposition wanted authorities to take responsibility for the loss of lives, while the government accused the opposition of supporting the protests it said were infiltrated by 'terrorists'.

Abhisit later decided to reshuffle his Cabinet, because some members of the coalition in the Puea Pandin Party voted against the government line - Bhum Jai Thai ministers.

All ministers under attack during the debate retained their positions but some Democrat ministers -including Phaitoon Kaeothong and Teera Slukpetch - lost their posts in the Labour and Culture ministries respectively. MPs under Phaitoon and Teera expressed disappointment as both ex-ministers were key personalities for the Democrats in the Central and Eastern provinces.

Phaitoon said he was disappointed with the reshuffle as the prime minister did not consult him before the decision. He received the news from Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart from the Chart Thai Pattana Party, who offered him moral support and suggested he break away from the Democrats to set up a new party for the next election. Phaitoon said he might consider the idea later.

Sorawut Nuangchamnong, a Democrat MP from Chon Buri, said eastern province members respected Abhisit's decision on the reshuffle - but next time the prime minister should elevate members from the eastern provinces to Cabinet positions.

New Politics Party's secretary general Suriyasai Katasila said he was also disappointed with the reshuffle since it would not solve any problems for the country but was merely a political solution for the coalition.

"The reshuffle aims to mobilise resources for the next election which will come late this year or early next year," said Surayai whose party was newly set up and has no stake in the government.

The Cabinet reshuffle did not tackle the fundamental problems of the country, notably the movement to topple the monarchy, he said.

An opinion survey by Abac Poll indicated yesterday about 54 per cent of respondents in 17 provinces said they would not get any benefit from latest cabinet reshuffle, while 33 per cent said the shake-up would benefit the people. The rest made no comment.

Of 1,237 households responding in the poll, 24 per cent supported the government while 15 per cent did not support it and about 61 per cent said they were neutral.

-The Nation/Asia News Network