People's Party MPs urge the government to review the Service Establishment Bill after the Prime Minister rejected the bill, citing it as a financial law, and call for urgent amendments, noting the existing law has been in use for 60 years. They reveal that Phuket has set up units to collect extortion payments.
At 10:00 a.m. on 23 September 2026 GMT+7. Mr. Panthil Nuamchoem. Panthil Nuamchoem, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bangkok from the People's Party, spoke at the parliament regarding the Prime Minister's refusal to endorse the People's Party's draft Service Establishment Act, stating: Currently, the Service Establishment Act has been in use for 60 years and is very outdated. There is a need to amend the act, redefining it to fit today's business landscape and decentralizing authority to local governments who understand their area's issues. However, the People's Party's draft was classified as a financial law requiring the Prime Minister's endorsement before consideration, but the Prime Minister did not endorse this bill.
Therefore, the government must be asked if it has its own draft. To be direct: if we want to be a metropolitan tourism city and build a night economy, who will take responsibility? Will the Prime Minister deny the reality while claiming moral integrity? The Prime Minister must ensure fairness to legitimate operators and not neglect extortion practices. In Bangkok areas like Sukhumvit, beer bars earning 3 million baht a month must pay 10%, or 300,000 baht. I invite the Prime Minister to try working the night shift, playing saxophone in a bar past midnight, to see how it feels, or to play saxophone in Phuket and see if customers come after midnight. This would show the true situation. I urge a review of the law rather than dismissing it because it comes from the People's Party, as we are addressing public hardship, not politics.
. Mr. Chalermpong Sangdee. Chalermpong Sangdee, People's Party MP for Phuket, added that entertainment operators in Phuket place their hopes on the Service Establishment Bill because the old law is outdated and unresponsive to current conditions. Operators endure pressure and fight against state power through extortion, yet the Prime Minister disregards their plight by rejecting the bill. He questioned whether the Prime Minister favors vested interests, noting that the Ministry of Interior currently faces allegations of collecting extortion payments from entertainment venues in Patong Beach, Phuket. Although venues are zoned to close by 4:00 a.m., operators still face extortion from the Ministry of Interior. The Department of Provincial Administration has set up units to collect these payments, forwarding them to provincial governors who come from the Ministry of Interior. He asked the Prime Minister to address this issue, as the extortion varies by venue size: bars pay 3,000-5,000 baht, clubs 10,000-50,000 baht, and large entertainment venues may be charged hundreds of thousands of baht.