Thai talk: Just a temporary truce in the war of words over casinos

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THAI TALK
Just a temporary truce in the war of words over casinos
Suthichai Yoon
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The prime minister might have told the national police chief to stop his campaign to legalise casinos in Thailand, but you can be sure that the controversy won't just die away. It's only a matter of time before the hot issue rears its ugly head once again.

There is, of course, nothing seriously wrong with arguing the pros and cons of legalising casinos, and the issue has been a subject of debate for decades. The only problem with the idea is that it has never been given a real public hearing. Like a tornado, the question of whether casinos are good or bad for the country usually bursts in without warning, and before everybody had a chance to notice, it's left again, leaving behind a trail of debris.

The resumption of the campaign this time did indeed come out of the blue. It had a terrible start because it came through the wrong channel. The proponents probably had an insufficient advance briefing - so much so that, when questioned, they couldn't even explain the difference between a casino and an "entertainment complex".

It got off to a bad start because the proposal was made public by a group of 12 members of the National Reform Council (NRC) calling themselves "patriots". The suggestion immediately drew scepticism, followed by an avalanche of criticism.

For one thing, promoting casinos certainly isn't on the "reform agenda". Any attempt to use the "reform" banner to ram through such a contentious notion would surely have faced serious hurdles. The reason cited for the move - raking in revenue to bolster the weakening economy - made no sense to anybody in the know.

The reason for the negative reaction was simple: Even if casinos could be legalised immediately, the supposed revenue would not arrive in time to assuage the feeble economy this year, or even next year for that matter.

And, even if the rationale made sense, there is a huge question mark over whether casinos actually do strengthen a country's finances. It's still debatable whether money that passes hands in gambling activities, legal or otherwise, plays any significant role at all in boosting GDP.

Things got worse when the national police chief, Police Gen Somyos Poompanmuang, declared himself the chief promoter of the idea, saying he would even set up a website to lobby for the legalisation of casinos and underground gambling, regardless of the fact that he's retiring in a few months.

This raised eyebrows around the country, not only because he called himself "an expert on casinos", but also because, as the top officer in national law enforcement, he's not supposed to be seen approving, let alone promoting, what remains for now an illegal activity.

When the finance minister and another Cabinet member, also a former national police chief, followed up with comments backing Somyos, things began to sound strange. Although Deputy Premier MR Pridiyathorn Devakul came out to oppose the idea, questions began to emerge as to where Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha stood on the issue.

Then came the big counter-attack. Another member of the NRC called a press conference to charge that some investors keen on getting a licence to operate casinos in Thailand had approached a certain Army general who in turn had "used" the "Patriotic Group" to fly a trial balloon. In payment, he said, the "patriots" were to receive around Bt10 billion to set up a new political party ahead of the next election. The opponent also claimed that the promoters were promised seats on the new Reform Steering Council once the NRC is dissolved following its vote on the draft constitution, expected in the first week of September.

The accusations got the premier's attention. He was initially non-committal about the proposal, saying he would have to listen to all parties concerned and that the public would have express its feelings before he made a decision. But, once the battle threatened to get out of hand and undermine his national agenda for reform, the PM called a halt to the war of words.

This might prove to be just a temporary "truce" in the drawn-out battle to push through the legalisation of gambling. There is no shortage of research on the issue, but there has never been transparent, healthy and robust debate in which civil society had a real chance to come face to face with the politicians and business interests who have so far chosen to lobby behind the scenes to achieve their goal.

No doubt the battle will resume once the politicians are back in full force.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Just-a-temporary-truce-in-the-war-of-words-over-ca-30263530.html


-- The Nation 2015-07-02

[hanuman2543]

Instead campaigning for the legalization of casinos Somyos should campaign for the legalization of Marijuana. That is much better for the overall happiness.

Edited July 1, 2015 by hanuman2543