Gambling, Sports Betting and UMNO Baru, where art thou Perkasa, Ibrahim Ali?

There had been news of the UMNO Baru-led Government considering the legalization of sports betting in Malaysia. The normal excuse that the Government is losing hundreds of millions per year in revenue to illegal bookmakers does not hold water at all here, considering the destruction this menace will do to wreck millions of Malaysian families, particularly the Malays. It takes true Malay leaders who place the importance of the Malaysian families first to stop the curse. In this respect, our heartfelt appreciation to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Tok Guru Nik Aziz, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS and PKR.

By Osama

The legalization of sports betting in Malaysia is imminent judging by the way the Najib-led UMNO administration is handling the matter and the lobbying by Vincent Tan to activate his gambling license which was reportedly approved during the last days of the Mahathir administration.

The oft repeated excuse of the Government that the Government is losing monies to illegal bookies, and that budgetary hardship requires them to seriously consider legalizing it to generate extra income to the Government. This is but bullshit. Just who are involved and who are the victims of this sporting menace? It is but a small minority of the Chinese populace. If the Government is serious in tackling this crime, it surely can come down hard on it but instead they have allowed the menace to flourish and then they say they need the revenue.

Just hop across the crossway and see what sports betting is like. Whole lines of gamblers waiting outside betting joints even before the outlets open for business. These people are so addicted to gambling that it is worse than a drug addict attending to his needs. Malaysians, we are not talking about those 4digits draws, we are talking about football betting, big time and legalized.

Enter the outlets, you can see the tout boards like those in the KLSE changing every now and then, and bettors wanting to place their bets to get better returns for their bets. Most often, they end up disappointed.  We are not talking about the Malaysia Cup or Liga Malaysia, we are talking of international football betting. We are talking of legalized international betting, betting on football games worldwide. From the EPL, to Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Brazil, Argentina and anywhere where the game is played. Hundreds of games are being played almost everyday and which you can bet on every day.

This menace has gone so riduculously out of control that ordinary Malaysians may think that it is betting on the results of the game only. Hey no! Money is won or lost even before the first kick. Bets like who will kick off, who will get the first corner, who will get the first free kick, who will get the first yellow card, the red card, which team will score first, who will score, what the scoreline will be, and they, like the 4D have big and small too, which I am not able to dwell on. This is for the first half; and in the second half the whole scenario is repeated again. Before you know anything, before the game ends, the whole month pay packet will be gone.

Now, sports betting is much much bigger than the 4D draws, monies are won or lost within 2 hours, and there are so many games for you to bet on. If you lose the first game, you will surely want to recoup your losses, if you have the monies and place bets for the next games to cover your losses and this sorry saga continues. Again, majority will end up losing whatever they have in their pockets before the day is over.

Now, why did I say this menace is going to destroy Malaysians of the Malay race? Care to look around all sporting events, who are the majority sporting fans? It is undoubtedly the Malays. The Malays are so passionate about sports, if you look in the football stadiums nationwide, you can see that 99% of those fans are Malays. What may start off as an innocent bet may end up emptying his pockets before the game is over. This menace currently affects minority Chinese only, and you can read from the newspapers the agony and pain the families of these families had to go through, if any of their members are involved in football betting. All the Sherlocks (Ah Longs) will be ready to capitalize on the greeds of the bettors. Ask Michael Chong, and he will be able to tell you what football gambling had done to those gambling football and their families. These gamblers are getting younger and younger by the day.

It has reached a stage where the Chinese are saying no to sports betting, but the UMNO-led Government thinks otherwise. They can see the huge pool of Malay sports fans and they are counting their take on each game day, without bothering how this will wreck the families of these innocent Malays who had not ventured into sports betting, particularly football betting. And these sports fans who will inadvertently be drawn into gambling are young minds. Do they know what is waiting ahead of them? Football betting is only one aspect of sports betting. There will be bets placed on almost anything that concern sports; from formula 1 to badminton, everything.

As it is, we need Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PAS to warn the Malays of the curse that is going to befall them. Please, Tok Guru Nik Aziz, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, all right-thinking Malays and Muslims, please bring this matter to the Malay community, and say “Tak Nak” to sports betting. Please bring this matter to Hulu Selangor, please let the people of Hulu Selangor decide whether they want sports betting. PAS, Datuk Seri Anwar, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, please save the Malays from this debacle. If sports betting gets underway, it will not only signify the end of Malaysians, but, particularly the Malay race. Besides, “Judi Adalah Haram disisi Agama Islam”, so says the sign boards on 4D betting outlets. But please see who are the majority gamblers now?

We cannot count on UMNO Baru as they are hell-bent on introducing it, and Perkasa, the self proclaimed, “Champions of Malays and Islam” are particularly quiet about this menace, perhaps because Ibrahim Ali worked with the gambling towkay before? What say you, “Champions of Islam and Malays”? What is your stand? You know what is going to come, but you keep quiet because the interests of your towkay are more important than the interests of Malaysians, particularly Malays? The Chinese had tasted the bitterness of football betting, do you want the Malays to taste it as well?

As reported, the World Cup is around the corner. The Alongs are ready. Just see how many are going to commit suicide after the World Cup. Just watch. Perhaps, Perkasa want to see the birth of a new breed of Malay Alongs? Perkasa had been extremely vocal on religious issues, even inter faith dialouges are “no” to them. But is sports betting “OK” with them? Is it ok according to Islam? This curse of the World Cup has been recurring every four years but Malaysians “cepat lupa”. Zahrain, Zulkifli Nordin, enjoying yourselves in USA, did you not quit or get sacked by PKR because you mentioned you are doing so because of your race and religion? Is football betting ok with you two jokers and Mohsin?

Can PAS, Datuk Seri Anwar, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi come to the fore again? Please save Malaysia! “Selamatkan Malaysia”. In PAS and Datuk Seri Anwar we trust!

Selamatkan Malaysia.