Economy bears the cost as moral crusaders claim another scalp

FUNDAMENTALIST ETHICS and economics are a strange mix and, seasoned with politics, can become a heady, if not debilitating, brew.

In Thailand, as recent developments have shown, this triple-based mixture has been used as both a social and political purgative. But while the social virtues of these events are still being debated, there's a danger that the intoxication it has engendered among social activists and power players may eventually leave the economy in a coma.

In a way, it raises profound questions about the economics of morality and social values in Asia, as well as their role and relevance in the region's booming and rapidly evolving markets.

Before Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was felled by a morally-minded campaign, there was the Buddhist-led demonisation of Thai Beverage.

Early last year, Thailand's largest beer and spirits maker - owned by the country's wealthiest individual, Chinese-Thai Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi - uncorked plans for a US$730 million listing in Bangkok to help it compete locally and expand internationally.

But then, a campaign, led by controversial politician and Buddhist ascetic Chamlong Srimuang, charged that the brewer's IPO would present 'a grave threat to the health, social harmony and time-honored ethics of Thai culture'.

Leading an alliance of 172 anti-alcohol associations plus 67 religious organisations including Muslim, Christian and Sikh groups, Mr Chamlong headed the street protests and raised funds to pay for full-page newspaper advertisements claiming that alcohol was behind almost 75 per cent of the country's road accidents, 45.3 per cent of sex-related court cases and rapes, and partly to blame for up to 50 potentially deadly diseases.