Pheu Thai secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong has dismissed reports that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra told coalition parties to ensure that their MPs support the draft entertainment complex bill in parliament this Wednesday or risk being expelled from the government.
“It is unfair to the party, which has already been damaged by these baseless reports. They quoted no one directly, only unnamed sources,” he said, adding that the party could do nothing now, as the reports have already spread.
“We can confirm that it’s not true, but we can’t force people to believe us,” he said, claiming that Thaksin had not given any interview, as claimed in the reports.
Various sectors of society, including the Buddhist Association of Thailand, the Catholic Church, former members of the Constitution Drafting Assembly, academic groups, senior doctors and senators, have already joined the anti-casino campaign.
Thaksin’s reported warning is believed to have been directed at the Bhumjaithai and United Thai Nation parties, viewed by the Pheu Thai party as uneasy allies.
The Prachachart party, one of the coalition parties which has its power base in the three Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, may not support the draft bill, fearing a loss of support from the Muslim population.
Sukarno Matha, one of the eight Muslim Prachachart MPs, said in his Facebook post today that the party leader, Tawee Sodsong, also justice minister, has made clear to the cabinet and the government’s chief whip that the party has reservations about the casino project.
In his April 1st letter, addressed to the government’s chief whip Wisut Chainaroon, Tawee wrote that the entertainment complex project, which includes a casino, may expose Thai youth to gambling, narcotics and other forms of vice, which contravene some religions’ precepts.
Tawee suggested that provisions be incorporated in the draft bill to specify the zoning of entertainment complex or complexes, to protect Thai youth.
Meanwhile, Kaewsan Atibodhi, a former lecturer at Thammasat University and a regular critic of Thaksin, said in his Facebook post today that, according to the government’s plan, there will be five entertainment complexes, meaning five casinos, scattered across five regions Thailand.
Due to the requirement for investors in each complex to have registered capital of at least 10 billion baht, with no open bidding, he claimed that it is possible that contracts for the development of the entertainment complexes will be awarded to a narrow group of investors.
He also noted that the legal requirement, for a Thai national to have bank deposits totalling 50 million baht to be able to enter a casino, may be deleted by the House scrutiny committee, after the bill’s first reading, so more Thais can access the casinos.
Kaewsan predicted that, in the end, Thais, rather than foreign tourists, will be the main customers of casinos in the complexes and the newly legalised online gambling services.
