Several Related Issues

But some quarters are at liberty to claim they are disparate.
Never mind, this is a Free World, or is it?

All the news reports/extracts are from the NST today:
starting at its frontpage , so it's mainly Cut&Paste, and the emphasis (THUS BOLFDED) is Desi's:

I'm minimising my usual comments lest I be alleged to be guilty of speaking on my ER' behalf (behalves?) on highly complex, and potentially controversial, issues. Disparate or desperate, your choice. Democracy always at work, with yellow rbbons, red roses (Scarlet Pimpernel, anyone?) and piping hot Teh-C.And you don't want a war with Desi, do you?~~ Desi


Guns, roses
and king

Soldiers with yellow ribonsand flowers : A different kind of coup

THE COUP LEADER

GEN. SONDHI
BOONYARATKALIN

Will act as prime minister for
two weeks until a new leader
is found. Genwral election to
be held by October 2007.
Says ousted Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra can return
to the country, but warned he
could face criminal charges.

WHY HE DID IT: Says
Thailand's first coup in 15 years
was necessary to heal mounting
rifts in THai society and to end
government corruption, insults
to the revered King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, and what the general
called Thaksin's attempts to
destroy democratic institutions.



~~~~~~~~
And from page 8:

Malaysian firms expect business as usual

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian companies expect it to be business as usual despite the unexpected Thai military coup on Tuesday night which toppled the government.

Coups in Bangkok are historically non-violent and the public is quite informed of what to expect, said Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce chairman Yeap Swee Chuan.

"Some of our new members may be a little concerned, but those of us who have been doing business here for a long time, we are not too worried," he said.

"I’ve been in Thailand for 20 years and been through many coups. All this while there was no violence.

"The first one I experienced was 19 years ago and this time, there’s hardly any danger," he told the New Straits Times in a telephone interview from Bangkok yesterday.

Established in 2002, the Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce comprises 90 Malaysian and Thai companies and individuals doing business in Thailand.

Among members of the chamber are Malaysia’s state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd, ceramic tile maker White Horse Bhd, construction company Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, car parts manufacturer Ingress Corp Bhd, DRB-Hicom Bhd, insurer Kurnia Asia Bhd, RHB Bank and others.

Last year, Malaysia was the second largest foreign investor in Thailand after Japan which invested US$4.38billion (RM16.12 billion).

Other businessmen and analysts said, however, that the Thai coup, which rattled regional markets and the baht currency yesterday, may come as a blessing in disguise for Malaysia which is vying hard with other neighbours for foreign investments.

The coup reflected political instability in Thailand, a factor that really puts off investors, and there was a chance some of the investments originally headed there could be put on hold or diverted to neighbouring nations like Malaysia.
:
:

~~~~~~~~
And from page 36

Economists still see a slowing Thai economy


THAILAND'S economy may be hit by a drop in foreign investments and the number of tourists, as it deals with its first coup in 15 years, economists say.
However, they are not changing their prediction that the economy will slow this year.

DBS Bank said while the coup means more uncertainty in the region, its outlook for a slowing economy still holds.


"Until a clearer picture emerges of what military rule will look like, we see no clear reason to alter our forecasts for GDP growth of 4.9 per cent year-on-year in 2006 and 5.1 per cent in 2007," said economist Aathira Prasad.


She felt that the tourism sector is likely to suffer, especially in the next few weeks, until the military makes known their stand. Foreign investment may also be affected.


International rating agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's have put Thailand on negative watch for a possible downgrade.


Aathira said that "if the interim Government passes a budget and puts some attention on long-delayed investment projects, it could mean better growth prospects for Thailand in 2007."


But she warned that the last coup in the country saw an amendment to the Constitution and that took almost a year to materialise.


The Thai economy grew 5.5 per cent in the first half of the year, led by exports and rising tourist inflows.


"Political uncertainty over the past year has led to very weak domestic demand, with consumer confidence and business sentiment hitting new lows by the month," she said, in a report.


Private investment has also been postponed in the absence of clear government policies while public investment spending had been held back by the lack of a budget. Aathira said things had been looking up for the economy with the Election Commission in place and an election scheduled to take place by mid-November.


Standard Chartered Bank's regional head of economics, Nicholas Kwan, said in Kuala Lumpur that he expects some volatility on the Thai baht traded offshore.


Apart from the currency market, the uncertainty in the political situation is expected to affect the stock market too.


"But unlike the financial crisis which affected the region following the devaluation of the baht, we only expect similar political contagion in countries like Taiwan and the Philippines," he said at a briefing on the economic outlook for Asia in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

~~~~~~~

Finally, from page 17, I'm like that Tuition Teacher about to earn RM5,000 to RM10,000 a month depending on response from gullible students and more gullible parents -- DO SOME HOMEWORK to seek from wisdom from a royal item of which I shall tantalise thee with a peek at the headline, enough? ~~

'A king is more than a symbol'

Seya and have FUN-d!