AFTER RECENT COUP, THAIS WORRY ABOUT LOVED ONES.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Members of Santa Clarita's small Thai community worried Tuesday about family back home -- after the prime minister was overthrown in a bloodless military coup.

But they also said violence doesn't appear imminent in Thailand, so relatives there should be safe.

``It's not fighting yet,'' said Alex Bumroong, 46, who works in the kitchen at Thai Dishes, a restaurant in a strip mall off Valencia Boulevard.

A resident of the United States for five years, Bumroong said through an interpreter that he's only moderately worried about family back in Thailand, which includes his parents and siblings.

The country has known coups in the past, and although protesters died in the aftermath of a 1991 coup, Bumroong said Tuesday's events remind him of past military takeovers where violence was avoided.

``Every time it happens, it's like this,'' he said.

Jenny Puangchaj, who works at the same restaurant, first heard about the bloodless coup when she was instant messaging a friend back home over the Internet.

She, too, has parents and siblings in Thailand.

``I don't think it's too bad,'' she said. ``Maybe somebody can control the situation.''

At the Thai Dishes restaurant, a portrait of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej hangs near the cash register, surrounded by past kings of the Asian country. Many Thai restaurants have a portrait of the king, who is an important figure for Thais.

Puangchaj said she has faith that the king can control the situation before it gets out of hand, and Bumroong said the king has some say.

``He's like a dad,'' Bumroong said. ``When his son or his daughter not behave, he calls (on them) to be good, like a family -- before everything (turns to) violence.''

Thailand's military overthrew popularly elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the dead of night Tuesday without firing a shot, amid mounting criticism that he had undermined democracy. The prime minister was in New York for a meeting of the United Nations during the coup.

Southern California has about 100,000 Thai residents, making it the largest Thai community outside the country itself, said Rosalyn Patamakanthin, 30, immediate past president of the Thai Association of Southern California.

Although numbers were not available, Santa Clarita's Thai community is small compared with areas such as North Hollywood, home to the Wat Thai Buddhist temple.

Thai-Americans have become divided over the political situation in Thailand, where the prime minister is accused of corruption by some and lauded by others for improving the country's economy. The political divide has meant that some Thai-Americans refuse to eat at Thai restaurants where the owners have spoken out on one side or the other, Patamakanthin said.

``It's very nasty,'' said Patamakanthin, a lawyer with an office in Koreatown. ``It's pretty much, `If you're on the other side, we're not friends.'''

A worker at one Thai restaurant, who asked that his business not be named and only gave his nickname of ``Ou'' for fear of angering anyone in the Thai community, was in Thailand during the 1991 coup. He was 15 at the time and remembers that the schools were closed and he had to stay at home.

He is worried about his family, but he doesn't think the situation is as bad as 1991.

``I know the government say, `Stay calm, and nothing will happen,' but we don't know,'' he said. ``Something unpredictable can happen.''

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

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