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The
Business Times, 23 Aug 04
S'pore to invite casino proposals with entry
curbs
Citizens below a certain income threshold may be barred
(SINGAPORE) Singaporeans earning less than a certain income may be
barred if the government decides to give the greenlight for a casino,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last night.
This is one restriction it may apply to meet the concerns of Singaporeans
who oppose the starting of a casino for social reasons.
And it will invite proposals to see if a casino will still make money
for investors with these and other restrictions it will draw up. 'We
will find reasonable restrictions, draw a line, call for proposals,
test the market,' Mr Lee said. 'Let's see what proposals come in.
If it makes sense, and people think it's worth doing commercially,
we make a judgement, we proceed. If it's not worth the downside risks,
then we call it off. We will consider all views before deciding.'
Mr Lee said the objections to a casino are valid, which is why the
government has rejected the idea for so long. But this time, it should
not just say no outright. Conditions have changed and competition
to win tourists in the region is fierce, he said. 'If we want more
tourists and double the visitors... we don't want them to come here
because of gambling, but if it's one of the things they want to do,
then maybe we will allow them to do that in Singapore,' he said. 'I
think we should think about it,' Mr Lee said. 'We should consider,
can we have a casino and still contain the social problems? Let's
study it.' The issue is not in black and white. 'It's looking for
an appropriate middle way where we can have our cake and also eat
most of it,' he said.
'Increasingly the world is going to be like that,' Mr Lee said. 'China
opened up. Deng Xiaoping said when you open the window, the flies
will fly in. So you can't close the window. You just have to have
a fly swatter, a fly trap, have one of these UV lights to zap them.
But keep the windows open and keep your interior as clean and as hygienic
for your own people as possible.' |
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