Alleged action by M'sian bikers in Narathiwat invites rebuke from Thai netizens

BANGKOK: The alleged overzealous action by Malaysian bikers on convoy to block traffic at a busy road junction in southern Thailand recently, has invited an uproar from the province's social media users.
Many of the Kingdom's netizens voiced their displeasure when the video clip of the incident was uploaded to Facebook on the Hatyai Fanpage Group account on Sept 27, several days after the actual incident.
Most of them wondered whether the action by foreign motorcyclist in deliberately blocking incoming vehicles in Thailand without any assistance from local authorities was legal, with many describing it as "taking the local law into their own hands."
The 1.05 minute video clip showed several Malaysian motorcyclists who were believed to be marshals of the convoy and unaccompanied by local authorities, blocked other vehicles at the busy traffic junction to let the convoy of motorcycles pass through.
Netizens also lamented the high speed the big and powerful motorcycles were driven during the convoy.
Bernama was made to understand, the incident which drew sharp rebuke from southern Thailand social media users occurred at the Lumphu Intersection, Muang District in Narathiwat province, southern Thailand at 10.32am (local time) on Sept 22.
Since the short video clip made its round in the popular fanpage account in the Facebook, it has been viewed by about 646,000 of the social media users and attracted 1,300 comments, mostly negative, as well as drew 4,100 likes.
The video clip posting had also attracted comments from Malaysian social media users, who mainly apologised for the action of their countrymen.
Facebook user, "Fairuz Abdul Latif" posted a message which read: "To all Thailand citizens, thousand apologies for rude riders from Malaysia," while another user who identified himself as 'Wan Kel' said, "This is madness. WE ARE SORRY THESE MALAYSIANS BEHAVED LIKE THIS IN YOUR LOVELY COUNTRY."
Meanwhile, a check with the Muang Police Station in Narathiwat today indicated that the authority had not received any complaints or police report from any members of the public regarding the said incident on Sept 22.
"So far no one has filed any complaint about the incident," said a police officer on duty when contacted by Bernama today, but added that they will gather more information about the incident.
The police officer who declined to identify himself because he was not authorised to speak to media said it was a bit surprising to watch the brazen attitude of foreign motorcyclists in the video clip for the first time.
"When I first saw the video clip, I was like, OH! How could they do something like that or they think they could do anything in Thailand?," he said adding that the police station was never contacted by the group to seek assistance prior to the said incident.
Narathiwat he said, was a popular destination for Malaysian big bike convoys as well as tourists and they had never faced similar problems in the past. — Bernama