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Extract from today's Bangkok Post hot off the press!
ANALYSIS / NIGHT-LIFE ZONING
Entertaining a new social order
The night-time entertainment provisions take effect next week, and not everybody is happy about it. The argument that earlier closing times will have a marked effect on certain social ills is still being questioned.
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL and ANUCHA CHAROENPO
The strict imposition of entertainment zoning laws and the earlier closing time of night-time entertainment places has generated a lot of noise and heat.
Supporters of the new provisions and their opponents have kicked up a lot of dust, often obscuring the question at the centre of this furore: ``Will the earlier closure of entertainment places solve the social ills a more liberal regime is thought to encourage.''
Those who support the new order believe it will help to curb violent crime, underage drinking, drug use, teenage prostitution, gambling and certain other criminal acts. They say all of these threaten Thai society and have undermined social values and virtues.
The opponents, mostly bar and club owners, condemn the policy as misguided. The social problems the government wishes to target will not be healed by the earlier closing of nightspots. A change in business hours will only lead to more extortion by police, they say. Drug use and violence against children will continue, as will underage drinking _ which is only able to flourish because of poor law enforcement and state corruption.
The opponents think it would be better for the police to enforce existing laws and clamp down on venues which admit underage patrons or permit them to consume alcohol.
They also challenge the idea of allowing entertainment zones if the government truly believes the night-time entertainment industry is a genuine threat to the country.
The new provisions, which take effect on Monday, March 1, require clubs and other nightspots outside the entertainment zones to close at midnight, two hours earlier than is now the case. In the designated entertainment zones, including Bangkok's Patpong, Ratchadapisek road and Royal City Avenue, the rules become more complicated. Discos and hostess bars will be allowed to stay open until 2am, but venues featuring live music and serving alcohol will have to shut at one. Massage parlours in entertainment zones cannot open before 4pm, four hours later than the current time, while those outside the zones must wait until 6pm. In both cases, they must shut at midnight
The provisions are the work of a committee headed by Purachai Piumsombun, the deputy prime minister who launched the government ``social order'' campaign in his former position as interior minister. It falls to the Interior Ministry to enforce the provisions, through the city police chief in Bangkok and the provincial governors elsewhere.
The crackdown on Thailand's freewheeling night scene, with bars and clubs in Bangkok able to operate till dawn, began in August 2001 under Mr Purachai. The initiative won the strong approval of most members of the public over the howls of protest from venue owners.
Nophadol In-na, deputy secretary-general for political affairs to the prime minister and an assistant to Mr Purachai on the drafting of the provisions, said the provisions were just one step following the social order campaign. He said the earlier closing times were in response to public demand. The zoning will become a blueprint for tracking social problems and handling them systematically.
``We have allowed this sort of business to exploit social benefits for too long,'' he said. ``It's now time to put them in order for the sake of a better society.''
The old regulations did not specify entertainment places by type. Police had difficulty determining which places should close at what time. Now they will have clear-cut directives.
Mr Nophadol said the new provisions over time would end the corruption among a small number of police.
They also would help the authorities deal with human and drug trafficking, and underage drinking and prostitution at entertainment places, although the provisions alone might not end these problems altogether.
Mr Nophadol denied the changes would hurt the employees of entertainment places, tourism or other service industries, as claimed by most operators. In fact, he thought employees would be happy to work shorter hours.
``These businessmen should care more about society than just themselves,'' he said.
Wallop Tangkananurak, chairman of the senate committee on child welfare, women and the elderly, said he supported the new rules as they would help to cure the social ills over time. But he also thought the government should inaugurate a concrete welfare plan in advance to help any employees affected by the changes.
The operators of entertainment places outside the designated zones are the most incensed by the new provisions.
They claim the changes will cause more harm than good. They say the government is taking the wrong tack in dealing with social problems and crime; entertainment venues are not the source of these ills.
Somyot Suthangkul, chairman of the Nationwide Entertainment Operator Association, said he disagreed totally with the new rules because they would affect people's lifestyles and the earnings of entertainment venue owners and staff.
Mr Somyot said forcing nightspots to close at midnight would cost staff the ``big tips'' from nightclub patrons on top of what they earn. Owners would suffer lower food and drink sales.
He said many places would have to close down, and he thought the very idea this campaign would reduce crime was wrong-headed.
``Instead, many of those laid off, mostly the uneducated and poor, will turn to earning money through the drug trade or theft,'' he said. Most entertainment workers are their family's breadwinner.
Wichien Promthungkor, chairman of the Royal City Avenue (RCA) Entertainment Operator Group, said even though bars and clubs in his area were not affected by the new provisions, he opposed the initiative and thought the government was making a mistake.
Zoning may have been appropriate 20 years ago, when there were few entertainment places and these would have been easy to control, ``but now such a policy will cause many problems for entertainment operators and their employees'', he said.
Mr Wichien said the government claimed the provisions were necessary to reduce crime among the young and to deal with social problems, especially those affecting the family, but such ills are not generated by night-time entertainment alone. Crime can take place in temples and schools as well.
Chuwit Kamolvisit, a high profile massage parlour operator, accuses the government of launching its social order campaign as a cynical vote winner.
Mr Chuwit believes massage parlours can promote improved relations between husbands and wives as many women were aware their husbands sought the help of masseuses, rather than taking a permanent mistress.
From a reasonably objective position, the government and its supporters really have yet to prove the nightspot-social ills correlation. But however spurious the argument, come Monday night the lights will be coming up much earlier in most night-time entertainment places right around the country.
Time please, ladies and gentlemen.
Extract from today's Bangkok Post hot off the press!
ANALYSIS / NIGHT-LIFE ZONING
Entertaining a new social order
The night-time entertainment provisions take effect next week, and not everybody is happy about it. The argument that earlier closing times will have a marked effect on certain social ills is still being questioned.
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL and ANUCHA CHAROENPO
The strict imposition of entertainment zoning laws and the earlier closing time of night-time entertainment places has generated a lot of noise and heat.
Supporters of the new provisions and their opponents have kicked up a lot of dust, often obscuring the question at the centre of this furore: ``Will the earlier closure of entertainment places solve the social ills a more liberal regime is thought to encourage.''
Those who support the new order believe it will help to curb violent crime, underage drinking, drug use, teenage prostitution, gambling and certain other criminal acts. They say all of these threaten Thai society and have undermined social values and virtues.
The opponents, mostly bar and club owners, condemn the policy as misguided. The social problems the government wishes to target will not be healed by the earlier closing of nightspots. A change in business hours will only lead to more extortion by police, they say. Drug use and violence against children will continue, as will underage drinking _ which is only able to flourish because of poor law enforcement and state corruption.
The opponents think it would be better for the police to enforce existing laws and clamp down on venues which admit underage patrons or permit them to consume alcohol.
They also challenge the idea of allowing entertainment zones if the government truly believes the night-time entertainment industry is a genuine threat to the country.
The new provisions, which take effect on Monday, March 1, require clubs and other nightspots outside the entertainment zones to close at midnight, two hours earlier than is now the case. In the designated entertainment zones, including Bangkok's Patpong, Ratchadapisek road and Royal City Avenue, the rules become more complicated. Discos and hostess bars will be allowed to stay open until 2am, but venues featuring live music and serving alcohol will have to shut at one. Massage parlours in entertainment zones cannot open before 4pm, four hours later than the current time, while those outside the zones must wait until 6pm. In both cases, they must shut at midnight
The provisions are the work of a committee headed by Purachai Piumsombun, the deputy prime minister who launched the government ``social order'' campaign in his former position as interior minister. It falls to the Interior Ministry to enforce the provisions, through the city police chief in Bangkok and the provincial governors elsewhere.
The crackdown on Thailand's freewheeling night scene, with bars and clubs in Bangkok able to operate till dawn, began in August 2001 under Mr Purachai. The initiative won the strong approval of most members of the public over the howls of protest from venue owners.
Nophadol In-na, deputy secretary-general for political affairs to the prime minister and an assistant to Mr Purachai on the drafting of the provisions, said the provisions were just one step following the social order campaign. He said the earlier closing times were in response to public demand. The zoning will become a blueprint for tracking social problems and handling them systematically.
``We have allowed this sort of business to exploit social benefits for too long,'' he said. ``It's now time to put them in order for the sake of a better society.''
The old regulations did not specify entertainment places by type. Police had difficulty determining which places should close at what time. Now they will have clear-cut directives.
Mr Nophadol said the new provisions over time would end the corruption among a small number of police.
They also would help the authorities deal with human and drug trafficking, and underage drinking and prostitution at entertainment places, although the provisions alone might not end these problems altogether.
Mr Nophadol denied the changes would hurt the employees of entertainment places, tourism or other service industries, as claimed by most operators. In fact, he thought employees would be happy to work shorter hours.
``These businessmen should care more about society than just themselves,'' he said.
Wallop Tangkananurak, chairman of the senate committee on child welfare, women and the elderly, said he supported the new rules as they would help to cure the social ills over time. But he also thought the government should inaugurate a concrete welfare plan in advance to help any employees affected by the changes.
The operators of entertainment places outside the designated zones are the most incensed by the new provisions.
They claim the changes will cause more harm than good. They say the government is taking the wrong tack in dealing with social problems and crime; entertainment venues are not the source of these ills.
Somyot Suthangkul, chairman of the Nationwide Entertainment Operator Association, said he disagreed totally with the new rules because they would affect people's lifestyles and the earnings of entertainment venue owners and staff.
Mr Somyot said forcing nightspots to close at midnight would cost staff the ``big tips'' from nightclub patrons on top of what they earn. Owners would suffer lower food and drink sales.
He said many places would have to close down, and he thought the very idea this campaign would reduce crime was wrong-headed.
``Instead, many of those laid off, mostly the uneducated and poor, will turn to earning money through the drug trade or theft,'' he said. Most entertainment workers are their family's breadwinner.
Wichien Promthungkor, chairman of the Royal City Avenue (RCA) Entertainment Operator Group, said even though bars and clubs in his area were not affected by the new provisions, he opposed the initiative and thought the government was making a mistake.
Zoning may have been appropriate 20 years ago, when there were few entertainment places and these would have been easy to control, ``but now such a policy will cause many problems for entertainment operators and their employees'', he said.
Mr Wichien said the government claimed the provisions were necessary to reduce crime among the young and to deal with social problems, especially those affecting the family, but such ills are not generated by night-time entertainment alone. Crime can take place in temples and schools as well.
Chuwit Kamolvisit, a high profile massage parlour operator, accuses the government of launching its social order campaign as a cynical vote winner.
Mr Chuwit believes massage parlours can promote improved relations between husbands and wives as many women were aware their husbands sought the help of masseuses, rather than taking a permanent mistress.
From a reasonably objective position, the government and its supporters really have yet to prove the nightspot-social ills correlation. But however spurious the argument, come Monday night the lights will be coming up much earlier in most night-time entertainment places right around the country.
Time please, ladies and gentlemen.
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