The two new Cabinet members are PM's Office Minister Prasit Kowilaikul and Deputy Finance Minister Sommai Pasee, according to Yongyuth.

The new appointments will increase the number of the Surayud Cabinet ministers from 26 to 28.

Yongyuth said the two's nominations have been submitted to the King for Royal endorsement.

An informed source said Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula handpicked Sommai by himself to help him handle overloading work. Sommai is a former deputy permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry and one of the country's respected tax experts. He is now chairman of the Thai Military Bank.

For Prasit, the interim government would need his expertise to support its handling of legal affairs, the source said. Prasit is a legal expert who once served as dean of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Laws. He is now rector of Huachiew University.

by Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation