Entertainment complex just a front for casinos and online gambling - Anutin

Bhumjaithai Party Leader Anutin Charnvirakul reiterated today that his party does not agree with the entertainment complex project, a flagship policy of the ruling Pheu Thai party, because it is just a front for casinos and the legalisation of online gambling.

He said that he would prefer an entertainment complex invested in by Thai businesses, citing the case of Icon Siam, which is like an entertainment complex, replete with a shopping mall, restaurants, cinemas, a convention hall and an amusement park, but without a casino.

He noted, however, that the Pheu Thai party prefers foreign investment, with licenses having already been offered to potential investors.

The former interior minister also dismissed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s claim that he would not let Thailand reach a dead end, noting his recent appearance on talk show, during which he spent almost half the time criticising the Bhumjaithai party.

He said Thaksin has bragged about not letting Thailand reach a dead end, noting that it may be better for the country to do so, so that there will be change for the better.

The government’s days in power are numbered, claimed Anutin, as he referred to a recent NIDA poll, showing that most respondents want suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to quit and former prime minister and coup leader Prayuth Chan-o-cha installed in her place.

The Bhumjaithai party leader claimed that Paetongtarn wanted his party to remain in the governing coalition, but he was not sure that Thaksin and other party heavyweights felt the same way.