Bangkok Post – Casino bill draws chorus of dissent

Govt seen as acting with undue haste

Opposition to the Entertainment Complex bill is gathering pace with doctors, academics and schools joining anti-casino protests ahead of the House’s deliberation of the bill on Wednesday.

A group of 37 senior doctors from Chulalongkorn University on Saturday came out against the bill, saying Thailand is still plagued with a patronage system and lax law enforcement, while corruption is also deeply entrenched. The setting was not ideal for such a big change.

Legalising casinos and online gambling will only worsen social problems and leave people trapped in a maze of gambling, increasing crime rates, drug problems, human trafficking, money laundering and other shady businesses.

“The economy will not improve as claimed, but it [legal casinos] will be a catastrophe for the country,” they said.

The group called on the government to withdraw the bill for the sake of social stability.

Other groups have also joined the campaign against the casino-entertainment complex bill, which has heated up in recent days amid claims the government — despite having a full plate with the recent earthquake in Myanmar and steep US tariff imposts on goods — is pushing it with undue haste.

Critcs now include members of the Academy of Moral and Political Science at the Royal Society of Thailand. At a recent meeting, members of the academy endorsed a study by one of its members, Woradej Chantharasorn, who suggested the government cancel or delay the bill.

But if the government insists on pushing the bill, it should come up with additional measures to address social problems and crime that could arise as a result of legalised casinos, they said.

On Thursday, the Catholic Education Council of Thailand also took a stand against the casino bill, saying gambling undermines morality and all 387 Catholic schools in Thailand were united against the government’s move to legalise casinos at the heart of the changes.

“The council has called on the government to protect children by scrapping the plan to legalise casios and online gambling and look for ways to promote a sustainable and fair economy without relying on income from gambling,” the council said.

Jatuporn Prompan, leader of the People’s Unity Group, has urged the public to join a protest on Wednesday against the first reading of the bill. The government is facing sharp criticism for trying to fast-track deliberation of the entertainment-casino complex bill in parliament despite lacking a comprehensive feasibility study to support it.

During a parliamentary meeting on Thursday, after the Pheu Thai Party proposed bringing the deliberation forward to Wednesday, the opposition openly questioned whether private investors were exerting undue influence over government policy.

People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told reporters that during Thursday’s meeting, he submitted a motion to make impacts of the recent earthquake an urgent agenda item for the next parliamentary session. However, the Pheu Thai Party later replaced it with the entertainment complex bill.

Mr Natthaphong said the government’s reshuffling of priorities stemmed from fears that a prolonged debate on the earthquake response might result in attendance falling below quorum requirements for the session, which could include a vote on the casino bill.