THE permit issued by Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsah to PT Metropolitan Magnum Indonesia (MMI) to hold prize raffles has jacked up the stock value of its parent company, Magnum Corporation Berhad in Malaysia. But domestically, there have been sharp words condemning the planned raffles as nothing more than well-packaged gambling by MMI.

Even Vice President Hamhaz Haz joined in the chorus of critics. As Bachtiars boss at the United Developm