Danok blasts not stopping Malaysians holidaying in Thailand

BUKIT KAYU HITAM: Sunday's bomb blasts in Danok and Sadao near the Malaysian border do not deter Malaysians from spending their Christmas holidays in Thailand.

At the entry points here, many Malaysian vehicles were seen entering Thailand since early Wednesday as Thai authorities continue cleaning the area of the bomb blast at Hotel Oliver, some 1.5km from the Immigration checkpoint here.

However, there were not many people in Danok town compared to previous public holidays and business was slow.

Three explosions took place in Danok, one in Sadao, about five kilometres from Danok, and one in Padang Besar, Thailand, killing two local residents and injuring over 20 others.

Several Malaysians told Bernama that they were aware of the bomb blasts but were confident the perpetrators would take into account the safety of many foreign tourists.

Wong Ngee Tat, 33, of Ipoh said he and his friends planned to go to Hatyai and they did not want to pass up on the opportunity in conjunction with Christmas.

Penang trader, Albert Sinnaiah, 55, said he would spend several days in conjunction with Christmas with his family in Hatyai and hoped nothing untoward would take place.

In Kuala Kedah, Malaysians interviewed by Bernama said they opted to holiday in Langkawi and not Thailand due to security reasons.

 "The bomb blasts in Thailand cannot be treated lightly. Don't do things that one may rue later," said Goh Ping Ping, 37, from Malacca.

Nor Aini Yahya, 27, of Kepala Batas, Penang said she immediately cancelled plans to holiday in the neighbouring country after the bomb blasts.