As politicians argue over the setting up of the country's second casino in Sarawak, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has pointed to examples in Middle Eastern countries.
Lim said he was surprised to discover that Lebanon and Egypt have casinos - while the building of a new luxury casino was underway in the United Arab Emirates.
He noted that the new casino in UAE's Ras al Khaimah was set to become one of the top 10 biggest casinos in the world when it opens in 2026.
Egypt has about a dozen casinos, including one operated by UK-incorporated Genting Casinos Egypt Ltd.
Lim made this observation in view of Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah telling PAS there was nothing wrong with setting up a casino in Sarawak and that "Sarawak is not just for Muslims".
The former MP pointed out that Malaysia was among the rare Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries where a third of the population were non-Muslims.
"Malaysia is well-placed... to be a role model for the world for inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.
"Do Malaysians and all political parties agree and is Parliament prepared to move a motion in the May-June sitting to elevate this objective to a national mission?" asked Lim.
Talk of a new casino in Sarawak began in March after the Sarawak government regained control of a land meant for the Borneo Highlands integrated resort project.
So far, the government has not committed to the casino project but the idea has garnered opposition from Sarawak PAS, which argued that a casino can cause the collapse of a society.
Abdul Karim dismissed Sarawak PAS' concerns yesterday, arguing that the party appeared to ignore other forms of legal gambling in Sarawak, such as 4D number betting. - Mkini
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