Thaksin slams Philippines for biased judging

Thaksin slams Philippines for biased judging

Associated Press, Bangkok

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra joined his country's sporting officials on Wednesday in saying that host Philippines was unfairly favoring its own competitors.

The situation had gotten so bad, Thaksin said, that the leaders of the participating countries should consider holding an official summit meeting to discuss fair play in sport.

Thaksin suggested the Philippines had made accumulating gold medals a greater priority than upholding the sporting spirit at the 23rd staging of the biennial event, leading to Thai participants losing out in unfair scoring.

"I have been following the SEA Games closely and believe that the SEA Games should exist to help athletes lift their standards," Thaksin told reporters in Bangkok. "It should not be about winning gold medals."

Thaksin said several winning competitors at the Games were not up to par, but win honors anyway because "the organizer aims only to favor their own athletes.

"We may have to have an unofficial summit among (Southeast Asian) leaders to discuss how to uplift the spirit and standard of the games, otherwise the SEA Games will be no longer be of interest for the region," he said.

It wasn't clear if he was serious about suggesting such a meeting. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations meets regularly on economic and security issues.

Jaruk Areerajakaran, secretary-general of Thailand's Olympic committee, which oversees international competition, has complained that the Philippines have cheated Thai competitors out of victories in several sports, including boxing, gymnastics and tae kwon do.

"It is hard to win at the Games since the hosts are cheating," Jaruk told reporters, as he conceded that the Thai team would not be able to win its targeted 110 to 118 gold medals.

In an official statement, the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee said that while the Philippines was hosting the Games, the officiating for each contest was conducted by the Southeast Asian Games Federation and its pool of international referees and judges.

Eric Buhain, chairman of the Philippine Games and Amusement Board and ambassador to the SEA Games, told the local INQ7.net website that Thaksin should not question the Philippine performance.

Buhain said the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, did not complain when Vietnam won 150 gold medals while hosting the previous SEA Games in 2003.

"He (Thai prime minister) should not question our performance at all," Buhain said.