New city chief faces daunting process, demoralised team
PUBLISHED: 10 Mar 2025 at 15: 17
The Sungai Kolok city office, on the frontier in Narathiwat state,  , has suspended the issuing of frontier passes for people going to Malaysia in the midst of Saturday night’s brutal assault by secessionist insurgents.
The weapons detonated by the intruders caused extensive damage to structures in the city office substances, including the hall that also houses the section dealing with border moves.
New district chief Supeeyan Taemohseng said on Monday the auditorium building suffered extensive damage. The insurgents had started the engine of a car carrying a bomb and sent it, driverless, from the entrance of the compound to the building, where it exploded.  ,
Applicants for the temporary travel document can still obtain border passes at other district offices in the province. An area was being cleared behind the conference centre of the Sungai Kolok district office and a temporary border pass office would be opened there when it was ready, Mr Supeeyan said ,
An average 300 people apply each day at the Sungai Kolok office for a border pass for travel to adjoining Kelantan state in Malaysia.
The ground floor of the main district office building was also destroyed. This has forced the suspension of revenue collection.
At least 10 armed insurgents dressed in black arrived outside the district office on a pickup truck early on Saturday night. They dismounted and threw bombs inside the compound and opened fire at defence volunteers on night guard before racing off in the same vehicle.
They left behind a scene of devastation. Two defence volunteers were killed and 14 other people injured, including civilians.
Bombs also went off at three other locations in Sungai Kolok the same night.
Malaysia has since advised its citizens to avoid travel to southern Thailand.
Sungai Kolok Municipality has appealed to residents to stay vigilant and promptly report any suspiicous objects or activity.
” Your cooperation is needed, remain watchful and notice whether there are suspicious objects left outside your houses or in areas around them”, the announcement said. ( continues below )
Sungai Kolok dstrict chief Supeeyan Taemohseng addresses his demoralised staff on his first day in the job on Monday. ( Photo: Narathiwat Public Relations Office Facebook account )
– First day for new chief-
Monday was Mr Supeeyan’s first day in the job as district chief. He was previously the head of Mai Kaen district in neighbouring Pattani province. His appointment to Sungai Kolok was a promotion.
His first announcement was to acknowledge that local officials ‘ morale was shattered by the bombs and gunfire. He appealed to them to continue doing their job. The district office remained partially open, he said.
Workers have begun cleaning up the mess left by the attack, including fire damaged vehicles that had been parked in the grounds on Satiurday night.
– Care for Thai students-
Malaysian Education Minister Fadhilina Sidek said on Sunday the Malaysian government would ensure the safety of Thai students studying there, including giving them places to stay if teachers considered it unsafe for them to travel.
” Initial measures have been introduced, including placing them in school hostels or with relatives who can ensure their safety”, Bernama news agency quoted her as saying.
Every day, many Thai students cross the Golok River, which marks the border, to study in Malaysian schools in Kelantan, mainly in the two border towns of Rantau Panjang and Pasir Mas.