Govt gets tough as Bangkok is isolated
Threat to use emergency powers as protesters seize second airport
By NISHA RAMCHANDANI
(SINGAPORE) Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency at two Bangkok airports besieged by anti-government protesters, a deputy minister said on Thursday, as rumours of an imminent army coup swirled through the capital.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Thirachai Sankaew said that police would be in charge of the Suvarnabhumi and the old Don Muang airports blockaded by the People’s Alliance for Democracy.
‘The cabinet agreed to use the emergency decree at the two airports to bring the situation back to normal,’ he told Reuters after a cabinet meeting.
This came after protesters, who had seized Suvarnabhumi International Airport earlier this week, took over Don Muang, effectively isolating Bangkok. This can only serve as another blow to Thailand’s tourism sector.
Thai Airways International announced that it was temporarily suspending all its 20 inbound and outbound flights from Don Muang until the airport resumes normal operations. The airline admitted that estimated losses from the closure of Bangkok’s two airports would be higher than the 500 million baht (S$21.4 million) a day it projected earlier.
Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways and Cathay Pacific cancelled yesterday’s flights to and from Suvarnabhumi, as the political standoff showed no signs of abating.
Mr Somchai urged the army to stay in its barracks yesterday amid rumours of an imminent coup.
Government spokesman Nattawut Saikuar denied rumours that Mr Somchai planned to sack army chief Anupong Paochina a day after the general called for a snap election to defuse the country’s political crisis.
‘Troops should stay in their barracks and the prime minister is not going to sack anybody,’ Mr Nattawut said. Mr Somchai rejected calls to quit and held an urgent cabinet meeting in the northern city of Chiang Mai. He remains isolated from Bangkok, just as Bangkok is isolated from the rest of the world.
Jetstar Asia suspended flights to and from Bangkok today, while Tiger Airways had only done so for its morning flight at press time yesterday. Singapore Airlines has temporarily suspended all flights to and from Suvarnabhumi.
Meanwhile, freight operators such as TNT Express (Singapore) are putting into place contingencies to facilitate shipments.
TNT is ramping up capacity on its current TNT Asia Road Network - a road network which spans Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indochina (including Vietnam) and China - to accommodate additional shipments affected by Suvarnabhumi’s closure.
‘We can easily scale our capacity to double or more, depending on demand,’ managing director Damien Tan said. Shipment travelling from Singapore to Bangkok would, on average, take two to three days.
TNT has been also getting queries from other industry players keen to tap its road network, and TNT is open to lending a helping hand. ‘Given the economic climate, we need to keep business going,’ Mr Tan said.
Meanwhile, the wave of leisure and business travellers cancelling Bangkok-bound bookings continues to gather steam.
‘Travel-wise, we will be a bit cautious,’ said Peter Lee, Hup Soon Global’s director of corporate finance and investor relations. Catalist listed Hup Soon - a distributor for automotive products and agriculture equipment - has an associate company and subsidiaries in Bangkok.
For Hup Soon, weakening investment sentiment right now is of a bigger worry than travelling. Plans to launch Hup Soon’s 52-unit luxury condominium project in downtown Bangkok this week have been postponed, due to the current level of investment sentiment.
A check with Chan Brothers Travel showed that 80 per cent of the 40 travellers - both leisure and corporate - who were headed for Bangkok this weekend have already cancelled their bookings. The remaining eight travellers are considering a re-route to nearby countries such as Malaysia, Cambodia or Vietnam, marketing communications executive Jane Chang said. — With Reuters reports
Source : Business Times - 28 Nov 2008
Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest
Mindy Yong
(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com
Strong buying momentum of private homes continues in Q2 »« Is property rally sustainable?
