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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Sports betting may be on again: Pakatan demands Najib clarifies


Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Pakatan Rakyat leaders are demanding that Prime Minister Najib Razak state in no uncertain terms whether a controversial sports betting licence he approved to tycoon Vincent Tan has been cancelled as was recently announced or is it still valid, waiting for better times to push through.

“This on-off thing is not acceptable to us, certainly not on an issue as important to the Muslim community as lesen judi sukan or sports-betting license,” PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar told Malaysia Chronicle.

Indeed, news that Najib’s Finance Ministry had revived plans to allow sports betting had drawn public protests from both Malay and non-Malay groups nationwide. The protesters are staunchly against increasing the number of gaming options in the country on fears it could encourage an unhealthy lifestyle.

The Malaysian government already allows lotteries and numbers-forecast operations and there is also a full-fledged casino in Najib’s home-state of Pahang. However, Muslims are banned from gambling.

In a written reply to Mahfuz, the Pokok Sena MP who had asked about the status of the betting licence, Najib said he had not made any decision yet and if the government was to award any license at all, Vincent’s Ascort Sports would be the receipent.

"The government will offer the licence to Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd for bookie services (not including the World Cup 2010) because this company has been given prior approval to conduct the activity. As such, the government feels that, if the sports betting licence is considered, Ascot Sports will have an advantage based on their experience,” Najib’s written reply stated.

Government decision, not Umno's

The PM's response immediately riled up Pakatan lawmakers, who have stood on the side of anti-gambling NGOs and pressure groups.

“There was not enough time to debate this topic on Tuesday. I was given a written reply and when I read through, I was shocked. It looks as though only the World Cup has been ruled out but what about the other football tournament - the English League, the Italian League and so on,” Mahfuz said.

He also urged Najib to raise the matter with the Cabinet and make a formal announcement. Najib’s previous decision had come after a late-night Umno Supreme Council meeting where his proposal had been vetoed despite support from other BN components such MCA and MIC.

Supporters of sports-betting argue that its legalization will help the federal government to tap into a rich source of tax revenue, which currently is lost to illegal bookies. The gambling industry in Malaysia is a thriving one and said to be worth billion of ringgit in revenues on draw dates.

“As we pointed out when the PM announced the decision to cancel Vincent's approval in principle, it should be done as a government decision, a Cabinet decision. Not an Umno decision. Otherwise it can give rise to ambiguity as what has happened in Parliament today, because Parliament is the highest place,” said Mahfuz.

As Umno president, he can say it is off but in Parliament, it is on again. Obviously, the decision in Parliament will be the one that will hold. So until Najib clarifies once and for all, the sports betting licence is still a possibility and from what I understand, this is what Vincent has been saying too.”

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