BANGKOK (AFP) - Bar girls are going idle, taxi drivers are out of pocket and nightclub owners are enraged, but Thai authorities refuse to call off a closing-hours crackdown that has shut Bangkok down after midnight.

Interior Minister Purachai Piemsombun has vowed to create a "new social order" in the city notorious for its redlight districts where perspiring foreigners flock to go-go bars, sex shows, cheap beer and all-night partying.

With the media and squads of police in tow, Purachai has personally led the charge into nightspots caught violating the rules, mounting raids where patrons are subjected to on-the-spot urine tests.

Bar managers say their takings have dropped by half in the weeks since they have been forced to serve last drinks at 1am and lock the doors an hour later, under antiquated licensing laws which have been ignored for years.

Late-night roadside cafes where revellers drop in for bowls of "khaotom" rice porridge are also feeling the pinch after being told to stop selling beer and locally-brewed whisky after midnight.

Wide support

The campaign has wide support among the public concerned over a crisis of drug addiction among Thai youth, fed by masses of cheap methamphetamines made in jungle laboratories along the Burmese border and sold in nightclubs and schoolyards.

But critics say Purachai has been too heavy-handed in implementing it and that the drug tests and oppressive police presence will blacken Bangkok's reputation and scare away tourists.

The ministers insistence that visitors to Bangkok come to see its "natural attractions" rather than its raunchy nightlife has been greeted with mirth both here and abroad.

But the Tourism Authority of Thailand wholeheartedly backs the sentiment, and says Bangkok could well do without the kind of visitor who comes here only to sample the bars and nightclubs.

"Our thought is that this government policy is good," TAT spokesman Paisan Wangsai told AFP.

"We want to promote Thailand as a quality tourist destination, so this policy will improve the quality of tourists and help Thailands image."

Thais deeply resent Bangkok's tag as the "brothel of the world" and the tourism authority has long campaigned to shrug off the seedy reputation, and attract more big-spending female tourists and families.

Back into recession

"The type who hang around at the bars until 3am - how much do they spend on their drinks anyway," Paisan said, noting that only 10 cents of the tourist dollar is spent on entertainment, with shopping taking up an average 30 cents.

"If this policy would damage our industry the first people to cry out would be the tour operators and hoteliers and they have done quite the contrary," Paisan insisted.

But analysts point out that tourism is one of the few vibrant sectors in the economy which appears to be slipping back into recession.

"The tourists they want are the kind who play golf all day, go to bed early and spend lots of money," said The Nation newspaper commentator Roger Beaumont.

"But to say we want these tourists but not those tourists is very dangerous message to send. We all know its a mixed bunch - and the guys who come from Manchester, and Munich and Melbourne are bringing in serious wads of money."

Beaumont said would-be visitors who read about the tightening-up would probably shrug their shoulders and come to Thailand anyway.

"A country's reputation for friendliness and a vibrant night is not going to change overnight," he said. "But if tourists are hassled or made to feel unwelcome then they will simply go somewhere else."

Laudable campaign

Nightspot owners say that is already happening, and that their businesses have become casualties of the laudable campaign to shield Thai youth from exposure to drugs and drink.

"Most people don't want to go to nightclubs if they think police are going to lock them into a room and make them pee into a cup," said one disgruntled club manager whose business is down by 30 percent.

"If it's an effort to deter drugs and underage children from the bars then it seems a rather heavy handed way of going about it, but I guess that's their intention."

Others warn Purachais crackdown will do nothing to stop other social evils like drink-driving, illegal gambling and the massive prostitution industry catering to Thais, often staffed by young immigrants who are virtual sex slaves.

"The archaic laws under which this free-for-all entertainment industry has grown and prospered should be Minister Purachais real target," said Bangkok Post commentator Kanjana Spindler.

"Social order is not something that can be imposed top-down when it is based upon laws that no longer reflect prevailing social mores. A new set of completely transparent laws are urgently needed."