BANGKOK – A royal convoy on Friday carried the body of Thailand’s King Bhumibol past thousands of weeping Thais to his riverside Grand Palace in Bangkok ahead of a funeral and a traditional royal cremation that will need months to prepare.

The world’s longest-reigning monarch, who was worshipped as a father figure during his 70-year reign, died in a Bangkok hospital on Thursday after a long illness. He was 88.

The convoy, which included heir apparent Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, moved slowly through Bangkok’s ancient quarter past mourners dressed in black, many of them holding aloft portraits of the king.

According to tradition, the bodies of Thai royals are placed in a golden urn. But palace officials said the tradition was no longer upheld and the king’s body would be placed in a coffin with a symbolic royal urn near it.

Later on Friday at the Grand Palace, Prince Vajiralongkorn will preside as Buddhist monks chant over the remains.

332459

Photo Gallery

Large crowds gather as convoy transports Thai king’s body to Grand Palace

Source:

Reuters

AFP

The Straits Times

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DRESSED IN BLACK

The king had been in poor health the past several years but his death still shocked the Southeast Asian nation of 67 million people and plunged it into grief.

Most people in the capital and in towns across the country dressed in black but shops opened for business.

The king stepped in to calm crises on several occasions during his reign and many Thais worry about a future without him. The military, which took power in a 2014 coup, has for decades invoked its duty to defend the monarchy to justify its intervention in politics.

Military government leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Thursday security was his top priority and he ordered extra troops deployed around the country.

TOURISTS ASKED TO RESPECT THAIS

As Thais begin a year of mourning for their king, parties and celebrations will be toned down, particularly over the next month, temporarily crimping consumer and tourist spending in an economy that has been struggling for traction in recent years.

With the government asking for people to “refrain from festivities” for 30 days, and embassies advising tourists to show restraint after the death of the king, even Bangkok’s bustling bars and the country’s famous holiday resorts could go unusually quiet.

Foreign embassies in Thailand advised tourists to respect the feelings of the Thai people at their time of grief.

Tropical Thailand, with its beaches, Buddhist temples and infamous night life, had expected a record 33 million tourists this year.

ORDERLY SUCCESSION

The stock market’s benchmark index closed on Friday 4.6 percent higher on hopes of an orderly succession.

Prince Vajiralongkorn is expected to be the new king but he does not enjoy the same adoration his father earned over a lifetime on the throne.

The prince has married and divorced three times, and has spent much of his life outside Thailand, often in Germany.

King Bhumibol was sometimes called the world’s richest monarch with a net worth of around US$40 billion (S$55.4 billion).

But much of the wealth was held by the Crown Property Bureau, which under the late king invested mainly in royal development projects and leased out great swathes of land in around Bangkok, often at below market rates.

The monarchy is arguably one of Thailand’s most powerful institutions. Part of that institution is the 19-member Privy Council, which advises the sovereign.

‘LOSING A FATHER’

Suthad Kongyeam, 53, among the many mourners at the Grand Palace waiting for the king’s remains to arrive, said it felt like losing a father. “He was the heart of the whole country,” said Suthad.”Everything is shaken. There is nothing to hold on to anymore.”

Most Thais have known no other monarch and King Bhumibol’s picture is hung in almost every house, school and office.

Black-and-white footage of the king playing jazz on the saxophone has replaced regular transmissions on television channels since shortly after the king’s death was announced.

Until his later years, he was featured on television almost every evening, often trudging through rain, map in hand and camera around his neck, visiting a rural development project.

His wife, Queen Sirikit, 84, has also been in poor health in recent years.

331856

Photo Gallery

A look back at Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s life

Source:

Reuters

AFP

The Straits Times

The Nation/ANN

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SIMMERING POLITICAL RIVALRIES

Thailand has endured bomb attacks and economic worries recently while rivalry simmers between the military-led establishment and populist political forces after a decade of turmoil including two coups and deadly protests.

Prayuth warned against anyone taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. Politicians from all sides will be in mourning.

Prayuth said on Thursday Prince Vajiralongkorn wanted to grieve with the people and leave the formal succession until later, when the parliament will invite him to ascend the throne. “Long live His Majesty the new king,” Prayuth said.

Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws have left little room for public discussion about the succession.

The junta has promised an election next year and pushed through a constitution to ensure its oversight of civilian governments. It looks firmly in control for a royal transition.

332244

Photo Gallery

Thais in Singapore and Thailand mourn passing of King Bhumibol

Source:

Reuters

AFP

The Straits Times

The New Paper

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BANGKOK – Massive crowds of weeping Thais and saluting soldiers lined the streets Friday as late King Bhumibol Adulyadej was borne through Bangkok, a day after his death left an apprehensive country facing an uncertain future.

Bhumibol, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, passed away at 88 on Thursday after years of ill health, ending seven decades as a stabilising figure in a nation of deep political divisions.

The phenomenal reverence towards him in Thailand was on clear display as mourners sat for hours in Bangkok’s urban heat awaiting the passage of his motorcade, in scenes reminiscent of religious devotees.

332459

Photo Gallery

Large crowds gather as convoy transports Thai king’s body to Grand Palace

Source:

Reuters

AFP

The Straits Times

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Pensive-looking men and women dressed in black were jammed cheek by jowl along roadsides in the capital on the short route from the hospital where Bhumibol died to his royal palace.

Some fainted and were carried away on stretchers, while others shouted ” King of the people!” as the convoy of several vans bearing his body and the royal family slowly wheeled through hushed streets.

The king ruled 70 years and was the only monarch most Thais knew.

“We no longer have him,” wept Phongsri Chompoonuch, 77, as she clutched the late monarch’s portrait.

“I don’t know whether I can accept that. I fear, because I don’t know what will come next.” At the palace, the crown prince was to preside over the bathing of the king’s body, a traditional Buddhist funeral rite and the start of official mourning that will include at least 100 days of chanting by monks and months more of palace rituals.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, is the king’s named successor but has made a surprise request to delay formally assuming the throne, according to Thailand’s junta leader, who appealed for citizens to “not cause chaos”.

Bhumibol was seen as a pillar of stability during his politically turbulent reign, and uncertainty for the future rests largely on doubts over whether his son can exert the same calming moral authority.

The crown prince spends much of his time overseas and does not command the reverence at home that his father did.

There was no indication of a threat to the crown prince’s eventual succession, however, and analysts said the pause could merely be out of respect for the deeply revered king.

Strict lese majeste laws muffle detailed discussion of the sensitive succession issue.

332244

Photo Gallery

Thais in Singapore and Thailand mourn passing of King Bhumibol

Source:

Reuters

AFP

The Straits Times

The New Paper

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“We maybe shouldn’t read too much into (the delay),” said David Streckfuss, an expert on the Thai monarchy.

“But we have already departed from what should have been a normal succession process. An element of ambiguity has been injected into the situation.” The current junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014, saying it wanted to end a decade of political strife.

Yingluck’s brother, exiled tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, had previously been ousted in a 2006 coup.

Since then, tensions have simmered between his throngs of supporters and a competing faction seen as aligned to the crown and military.

Some analysts believe the 2014 takeover was prompted in part by concerns over an unstable succession in which Thaksin’s faction could seek to exert influence.

Bhumibol’s reign saw decades of rapid economic development but also frequent military coups that set back democracy.

Although the king approved most of the army’s many successful coups, he also sometimes intervened to quell political violence, and his loss worries many Thais.

“Now I am afraid of what may happen, about the administration of the country, the type of regime in the long term,” said Arnon Sangwiman, a 54-year-old electricity company employee.

Government offices and state-run enterprises were closed out of respect Friday, but commercial activity otherwise carried on.

Stocks, pressured all week as the king’s health worsened, rebounded Friday, with the benchmark index closing 4.59 percent higher.

331856

Photo Gallery

A look back at Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s life

Source:

Reuters

AFP

The Straits Times

The Nation/ANN

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Authorities continued to interrupt all television programming in the country – including international networks such as the BBC and CNN – using their signals to broadcast non-stop hagiographic fare on the king’s life.

But colour was restored, a day after all TV images were transmitted in black and white out of mourning.

Praise for Bhumibol’s role as a ruler devoted to his subjects has poured in from across the globe including from US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

SEOUL – A South Korean tour bus carrying a group of retirees crashed and caught fire on a highway near the southeastern city of Ulsan, killing 10, police said on Friday (Oct 14), adding that the driver survived and had been arrested.

Highway closed-circuit television footage showed the bus, which was carrying 19 passengers, swerving and then catching fire after hitting the highway guardrail late on Thursday (Oct 13).

Passengers were retirees of Hanwha Chemical Corp and their spouses on their way home from a group tour to China, police said.

Choi Ik Soo, chief of police at the Ulju county in Ulsan, told reporters the driver was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and authorities were investigating.

332466

Photo Gallery

10 killed as S Korean tour bus carrying retirees catches fire after crash

Source:

AFP

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