Pridiyathorn says the government wants to prevent the return of the ‘underground’ lottery.

They questioned the rationale of legalising the two- and three-digit lotteries and raised suspicions that people who engineered the scheme for the ousted government were the ones who would benefit if the amendment was passed.

The meeting, which began at 1.40pm, was adjourned shortly be-fore 7pm. The speaker then scheduled the debate to resume this afternoon.

NLA member Prasong Soonsiri, a staunch critic of deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra, led the onslaught. "The government is taking a wrong direction," he said.

With the Council of State ruling that the two- and three-digit lotteries were illegal, changes to the Government Lottery Act would also be illegal as amendments would legitimise them, Prasong claimed.

Instead of getting rid of the "illegal" lotteries, the government was attempting to legalise them.

Prasong wondered why the Surayud government wanted to approve the controversial lotteries while the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) and National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) were probing charges against former prime minister Thaksin, members of his Cabinet, plus senior Finance and lottery officials for illegally introducing the two- and three-digit lotteries.

"Does the bill [if eventually made into an Act] serve as an amnesty for the Thaksin government?" he said.

NLA member Kanchana Silapa-archa, a former Chat Thai Party MP, said that legalising the special lotteries would only encourage more poor Thais' addiction to gambling.

She was unconvinced by arguments that the special lotteries would help reduce popularity of the underground lottery. "For what do we have the police?" she asked.

NLA member Praphan Khoonmi said the government was violating its own policy on social reform, and had badly damaged the good image of Surayud as a man of morality. It was unacceptable, he said, that the government had tried to save state income from illegal lotteries.

"How could people follow the law when the government is violating the law itself?" Praphan said. "Money from illegal lotteries is sinful income."

Deputy Premier and Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula on Monday submitted recommendations to the AEC and NCCC that those involved in approving the lotteries had committed a criminal act and overstepped their jurisdictions.

PM's Office Minister Prasith Kowilaikul told the Assembly yesterday the changes would not "whitewash" the guilt of any wrongdoer - the amendment was simply aimed at improving the legislation.

Pridiyathorn also defended the move. He said the government wanted to prevent a resurgence of the "underground" lottery. By cancelling the two- and three-digit lotteries, as some NLA members proposed, he believed the underground lottery would come back to haunt society.

Given that around 30 million Thais bought tickets in the lotteries regularly, cancelling them would indirectly raise the popularity of the deposed government, as those people would say "only Thaksin understands us", Pridiyathorn said.

He believed the best way to fix the two- and three-lotteries was to launch a long-term campaign urging the public to stop gambling. However, it could not be solved in the short term.

NLA member Sungsidh Piriyarangsan voiced support for the bill. He said the government was on the right track in making the lotteries legal.

To cancel the controversial lotteries would send a large amount of money that the government should receive back to local mafia along with local and national politicians, he said.

Sungsidh believed those people would use the money to buy votes in elections, which could even ruin Thai democracy in the long term.

Weerayut Chokchaimadon

 The Nation