By Thai Newsroom Reporters
NEARLY 200 FORMER SENATORS have aired stern opposition to the ruling Pheu Thai’s disputable scheme to open casinos and legalise online gambling and insisted that the coalition government give it up now.
Led by former Senate speakers Manoonkrit Roopkhachorn, Thiradej Meepian and Pornpet Wichitchonchai, the 189 former senior lawmakers today (April 3) delivered a joint statement to House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha and the leadership of all political parties expressing their resolute opposition to legislation which the largest ruling Pheu Thai, allegedly masterminded and steered by de facto party boss Thaksin Shinawatra, father of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has put forward for deliberation in the House of Representatives next week as well as the Pheu Thai-led government’s plan to legalise online gambling in foreseeable future.
The former senators’ statement advises the Pheu Thai-led coalition government to immediately, unconditionally withdraw such “catastrophic” legislations from parliament.
In the name of legislation to launch entertainment complex projects where casinos would be primarily available for tourists and visitors, the Pheu Thai-designed bills will eventually render more destructive than constructive effects onto the Thai people nationwide, according to the former senators’ statement.
The former senators contended that no casinos will practically turn Thailand into a wealthy country as obviously mistaken by the Pheu Thai and that the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia, reported to currently accommodate 50, 230 and 150 casinos respectively, have never been made richer. On the contrary, they pointed out, millions of those Indochinese nationals have migrated to Thailand for jobs.
Casinos and online gambling will immensely generate transnational crimes such as call centre scams and human and drug traffickings, among other vices, the statement says.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Gambling at a casino: Photo: Thai Rath
Front Page: A pile of casino chips. Photo: U_ikll9rvaom from Pixabay
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