Yesterday, it was the turn of commuters on Phetchaburi Road to suffer heavy traffic jams as the prime minister's security entourage flexed its muscle to clear all possible dangers to the premier, as he visited Thai Rak Thai Party headquarters.

All of this is a result of last week's "car bomb" incident.

Some say that whether or not the bomb was a hoax, it has distorted the national security system. Rather than dedicating themselves to protecting ordinary citizens, the police are focusing solely on Thaksin - who is receiving much better protection than the remaining 65 million Thais.

He probably knows that this is unfair. The prime minister yesterday cancelled a planned visit to the Commerce Ministry. Initially, he planned to arrive there at 2pm and, just as happened on previous days, security officers were put on the highest alert.

First, Thaksin planned to have a chat with caretakerCommerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, all seven directors-general, and all deputy directors-general. However, the audience was limited to only the minister and directors-general, not because he didn't want to talk to the deputies, but because the meeting venue was too small to accommodate all of them.

The venue would have been big enough, had it been the main meeting room on the fourth floor, near the permanent secretary's office. However, it was too big for security to handle. There were too many exits and entrances.

Therefore, a meeting room in the Foreign Trade Department on the 16th floor was chosen, although it is much smaller. For security reasons, no reporters were allowed to go up to the 16th floor. They had to stay on the 8th floor.

Despite all the thorough planning, the chaos disappeared in an instant when the visit was cancelled.

Which worked our well for everyone!

achara_d@nationgroup.com.