The chairman of the leading political party in Singapore—the one in power since self-government commenced in 1959—admitted this week he “does not like” casinos as a source of income for the city-state.
Lim Boon Heng of the People’s Action Party (PAP), made his feelings known after a news conference to announce party candidates for Singapore’s forthcoming general election—due between now and February 2012.
Asked by a journalist if the government was guilty of “groupthink” in policy making, Mr Lim brought up the casino policy issue.
“It is a difficult one for me, because I do not like the idea of using gambling as an industry for Singapore and using that as a means of earning an income,” he stated.
“At the time it was debated it was particularly difficult because unemployment was high. Today, the question is what kind of social problems will there be? It is too early to tell.
“I agree there is a contribution and there is a contribution to jobs and that is reason why I finally agreed. But I am still concerned [about] what kind of social problems it will bring to Singapore.
“We have only had a year [since the opening of the casinos] and so far there are stories about some people who have blown away huge fortunes.
“If it is about people who have a lot of money, I would not worry about that but if it has also affected families, it is not good for Singaporeans.”
The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore confirmed this week it is investigating allegations of “illegal activities” in Singapore’s two casinos—Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS)— but did not specify what those alleged activities were. But the announcement of an inquiry follows comments from Sheldon Adelson , Chairman and Chief Executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp, the developer and owner of MBS, that unlicensed junket representatives could be operating in Singapore.
The CRA confirmed in a statement to Reuters that Mr Adelson had been one of those raising concerns with the CRA about “illegal activities”.
