Low Thia Khiang didn't support the casino

Singapore
Govt just eyeing profits: WP chief464 words
20 April 2005
Straits Times
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English
(c) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
OPPOSITION MP Low Thia Khiang blasted the Government for its readiness to make Singaporeans suffer by serving up the idea of integrated resorts with casinos here.
Its real intention is to reap profits from the gains that a casino and increased tourism would bring, said the Hougang MP, whose Workers' Party (WP) opposes the decision.
The WP chief, who spoke in Mandarin, likened the resorts proposal to porridge that was being cooked and served to Singaporeans. They were then told to take it as there was special medicine in it.
The Government, he continued, was saying the medicine 'can better fill our stomachs'. This is 'notwithstanding the fact that this special medicine could cause some of our people to suffer diarrhoea or dehydration and even lose their lives'.
'PM Lee said that for the collective interest of the people, even if they have objections, they have to swallow it and he will do what is necessary for the after-care,' he said.
He charged that the authorities were willing to allow Singaporeans 'to suffer the damage that may be brought about by the casino'.
'On the other hand, the Government will just sit back and reap the harvest, without having to pay a single cent.'
The decision was made unilaterally and without considering the views of those who opposed the move, he charged.
He said the Government had argued that thecasino would form only a small part of an integrated resort, and that the resort would be 'a trump card in the development of tourism'.
If the resort was the most important component, the decision should have been to just have a resort. By then saying a resort without a casinowas not viable, the Government showed that its key consideration was the casino, he said.
And for that, it was willing to have Singaporeans suffer the consequences.
Its supposed rationale: a Community Development, Youth and Sports Ministry survey which found that, while six in 10 Singaporeans gamble, only 2.1 per cent are at risk of becoming addicts.
'So the logic is that, since they are gambling, whether they gamble at the casino or at the betting stations or Turf Club, there's no difference,' he said.
But there was a difference between just playing the lottery, and 'the attraction, the excitement and the thrill' of gambling in a casino, he said.
Values and the work ethic here would also be eroded, despite the assurance that safeguards would be in place, he added.
Singapore should learn from others and put in place controls and restrictions on the gambling industry. These would include public education to discourage gambling, and implementing suggestions by Chia Teck Leng, currently in jail for swindling banks to feed his gambling habit.
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