Thai PM performs duties as usual despite protests

BANGKOK, November 4 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has performed her duties as usual despite spreading protests against her government-supported amnesty bill in Bangkok and provincial areas, even including rallying rubber and oil palm farmers in the Thai South. Amid tighter security measures, Yingluck met a visiting globally-renowned architect, Frank Gehry, and his team at Bangkok's Government House on Monday morning to discuss future cooperation between the Thai government and the team, focusing on Thai architecture and products development. Later in the afternoon, Yingluck chaired a meeting of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Committee and then held a discussion on Thailand's preparations for a forthcoming ruling by The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) on a territorial case related to the Preah Vihear Temple along the Thai-Cambodian border, set on November 11, 2013. The Thai premier was scheduled to host a reception dinner for high ranking international guests on Monday evening. Meanwhile, the private sector, namely the Board of Trade of Thailand, has expressed its concerns over negative impacts on the national economy from the ongoing protests against the amnesty bill, calling for all parties to adhere to laws and the rule of law and relevant parties to explain possible consequences of the Parliament's passage and stoppage of the controversial amnesty bill and impacts on the Thai economy. Bangkok-based Assumption University's latest survey on 274 local small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) found that the happiness index of the SMEs operators stood at 6.06 points, out of total 10 points, last month, a low level showing the domestic political strife concerned the business operators. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index plunged by 40.68 points, or 2.85 per cent, to close at 1,388.40 points on late Monday afternoon due mainly to investors' worries over the widespread protests against the amnesty bill. (TNA)