Eight Leaders, Including From M'sia To Pay Last Respects To Thai King - Minister

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa BANGKOK, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- In the coming days, Thailand will receive eight heads of state and prime ministers who will pay their last respects to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej who died last week. Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Suwapan Tanyuwattana said, included in the list of dignitaries were Malaysia's King Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Prime Minister Najib Razak. "They (dignitaries from eight countries) are expected to be in Bangkok, beginning tomorrow (Friday)," he told the media Thursday, without disclosing the exact date of the visit due to security concerns. Also scheduled to arrive in Thailand soon were Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The prime ministers of Cambodia and Laos, as well as representatives from the Maldives are also expected to travel to Bangkok for similar reason, said the minister. The government, according to Suwapan, is also in the midst of making arrangements for the visit of another four or five foreign leaders to pay their respects to the world's longest reigning monarch. King Bhumibol, who sat at the throne for seven-decades since 1946, died last Thursday after years of ill health. -- BERNAMA