Police General Somyot Poompanmuang issued his order, marked "urgent" and dated on Friday, to police units all over the country, including the Metropolitan Police Bureau, all nine provincial police divisions, and the Border Patrol Police.

"After the revocation of a former political office holder's passports, some people with ill intentions may attempt to cause chaos in the country. All the [police] units should closely monitor suspected groups. There should also be increased security at locations that could be possible targets of attack, such as houses of VIPs," the order said.

The police chief also ordered checkpoints to be set up in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces as a deterrent measure.

However, PM's Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said that no suspicious movement had been detected following the foreign ministry move, but the security agencies were closely monitoring the situation.

"There have been only movements on social media. I believe the government will be able to control the situation," he said.

Royal Thai Police spokesman Lt-General Prawut Thawornsiri said that Somyot's order was intended to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, the police chief has sent back a recommendation by a police committee suggesting that Thaksin be stripped of his police lieutenant colonel rank because it was not signed by the panel's members, according to a police source.

The recommendation by the panel, headed by senior adviser General Chaiya Siri-ampankul, needs to have the signatures of its members before further action could be taken.

The panel had earlier suggested that the national police chief remove Thaksin's police rank because he had been sentenced to jail in 2008.

Thaksin's passports were revoked after he made comments deemed damaging to the country.

In a related development, Army chief General Udomdej Sitabutr said that Thaksin had accused the government of undermining the reconciliation efforts but had failed to understand that it was he who was harming reconciliation efforts.

Former Democrat MP Nipit Intaraso-mbat said that Thaksin's latest speech in South Korea last week demonstrated that he was not interested in reconciliation and had ruined any chance of achieving the goal in the future.

He singled out the part of Thaksin's speech in which he accused the Privy Council of involvement in past military coups as the key reason his passports were revoked and he may possibly lose his police rank.

"If he hadn't made that kind of speech, he would not have lost his passport. This will also make it almost impossible for the reconciliation process led by Anek Laothamatas [the reconciliation panel chairman and a National Reform Council member] to be achieved," said the former Democrat MP.

Following Thaksin's speech in South Korea, there is a move to strip him of his police rank.

Nipit said that Somyot had no choice but to do that because he was facing pressure from various organisations, including the government, which had absolute power.

Meanwhile, former Democrat MP Watchara Phetthong said the move to strip Thaksin's police rank was not politically motivated, but was merely a legal process.

He said the move should have been done long ago, but was put on hold due to Thaksin's influence on key organisations such as the Department of Special Investigation and the police.

National Anti-Corruption Commission member Wicha Mahakhun said the graft watchdog was considering filing a case calling for the impeachment of then foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul and then premier Yingluck Shinawatra for their alleged role in issuing the diplomatic passport to Thaksin during the Yingluck administration.

"I would like to confirm that this investigation doesn't particularly take aim at one political group. We are just doing our job by completing the investigation," said Wicha. (***)

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