Thailand is awaiting the unveiling of new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's cabinet, which he says will bring national reconciliation but which has already stirred controversy.

Abhisit has vowed to bring stability to Thailand and boost an economy battered by six months of protests against the last government, which ended on Dec 3 after a court dissolved the ruling People Power Party (PPP).

abhisit vejjajiva Oxford-educated Abhisit was voted in by Parliament on Dec 15 with the help of defecting MPs, but the Democrat Party leader's cabinet has already hit a snag with business leaders criticising some ministers as inexperienced.

Local media reported that the outcry prompted a last-minute change of industry minister before the list went to the revered king for royal approval late Friday.

"Every coalition party has sent their list of ministers, and the cabinet secretary has forwarded the list to the palace," Abhisit said Friday.

"I am willing to listen to all criticism, but as head of government I have to find a balance. I have told ministers of that concern, so they must quickly work to create confidence and select acceptable working teams."

Disloyal to monarchy

Since May, Thailand has been beset by increasingly disruptive protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

The PAD accused the now-defunct PPP of being disloyal to the monarchy and of running Thailand on behalf of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in exile abroad to escape corruption charges.

PAD protests reached their peak at the end of November when thousands of their supporters occupied Bangkok's two main airports for about a week, stranding up to 350,000 passengers and causing massive economic damage.

The group only ended their siege after the PPP was dissolved over vote fraud charges related to elections they won one year ago, allowing the Democrats to win over former PPP lawmakers and small parties to form the government.

Abhisit has said he wants to bring peace and stability back to the kingdom after the protests and has tried to reach out to Thaksin's supporters, but some of his reported choices for cabinet posts have cast doubt on those promises.

Kasit Piromya, slated as the new foreign minister, was a vocal supporter of the PAD and took to the stage repeatedly during their six-month protest campaign to criticise the government.

The Democrat Party has already been accused of tacitly backing the PAD, while supporters of Thaksin have accused the courts and the army of staging a "silent coup" to get the establishment-friendly Democrats into power.

- AFP