The GRTU, Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, yesterday called on the government once again to re-introduce a limit on the main prize of the Super 5 lottery, after nobody won the main prize on Wednesday.

For next week’s draw the main prize will be over Lm500,000. As for shops and entertainment venues, this translates into another week of low custom as, the GRTU said, “more money will be pumped into this national madness”.

The GRTU said it had not been consulted when the minister responsible removed the clause which limited the main prize, which increases every time there is no winner. The clause had been introduced at the insistence of the GRTU, and the government should therefore have consulted it before removing it. “The clause was removed for the sake of a little more money, after the public lotto system was sold to the private sector,” the GRTU said.

What was the government waiting for to intervene, it asked. The negative effects of this bad decision, which was taken behind everybody’s back, was now evident. GRTU director general Vince Farrugia said they had spoken to owners of groceries, supermarkets, butcher’s shops, clothes and shoe shops, bars, restaurants, pizza outlets and importers of food and other family necessities, and all agreed that this madness of gambling on the Super 5 game had hit them badly, and did so every time the Super 5 prize went above the usual limits.

This was why the GRTU was asking for action. Mr Farrugia said he was surprised that once again the government was not listening to public opinion. Everybody they had talked to agreed with them, Mr Farrugia said.