Copter flight puts off prime minister

By Wassana Nanuam

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday complained a helicopter that took him and his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to a ceremony on the Thai-Malaysian border on Thursday was so old that he felt unsafe.

''While taking an Airbus from Phuket to Ban Thon airfield in Narathiwat we enjoyed talking very much. But after boarding the helicopter we could hardly talk. The aircraft is just too old,'' Mr Thaksin said in his regular radio programme addressing the people yesterday.

From Ban Thon airfield Mr Thaksin and Mr Abdullah travelled further in a Bell 212 helicopter to land in an open field at Suksa Songkroh School in Waeng district of Narathiwat in the rain, and the weather was bad. From the school they went further in a car for about 10 minutes to Ban Buketa where they attended a foundation stone-laying ceremony for the construction of a bridge across the Kolok river from Ban Buketa on the Thai side to Bukit Bu-nga in Malaysia's Kelantan state.

''Both Thai and Malaysian people are glad they will have a bridge with which they can visit each other more conveniently,'' Mr Thaksin said.