"The prime minister gives priority to the public interest. He will never appoint bad people to his Cabinet," said General Pongthep Thesprateep.

He said the interim caretaker premier picked his own ministers rather than those who nominated themselves for selection.

"The appointees must be honest, devoted to the country and fair. And they must give priority to the national interest. This is what General Surayud sees as most important," Pongthep said.

The prime minister on Friday submitted his Cabinet list for royal endorsement.

Pongthep believes the Cabinet appointees will be acceptable to the majority of the public, but he added that it was unlikely for them to be 100 per cent flawless. Some candidates received criticism last week for their questionable backgrounds and links to certain figures in the deposed government of Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pongthep echoed Surayud's response to these allegations, calling them premature.

Meanwhile, veteran politician Snoh Thienthong, leader of the Pracharaj Party, said yesterday that he had confidence in the prime minister's judgement in selecting the Cabinet members.

Democrat Party spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon welcomed the probable Cabinet line-up reported by the media over the weekend. But he added that certain likely appointees were not free from flaws.

"It could become a good Cabinet that consists of former bureaucrats and some academics. Some of them have bruises. It's the duty of the members to make sure the bruises don't expand into big wounds," he said.

Ong-art added that the Cabinet appointees in question would also have to "take care of themselves" to ensure that any flaws or questionable backgrounds they might have do not affect their performance in the interim government.

He said the interim government had three main duties during its one-year mission: restoring the rule of ethics, healing the damaging social rift and preparing the social structure for a return to the decent way of life suggested by His Majesty the King.