Hishammuddin: the betting licence was approved a long time ago

(Bernama) – Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein urged state governments to stop speculation and work with the Home Ministry to tackle the football betting issue.

“Rather than making noise from the outside, state governments can offer their suggestions and ideas to overcome this black economy.

“The betting licence was approved a long time ago but it was made to look like it was only recently approved.”

“They have also painted a negative picture saying the government encourages gambling,” he told reporters after receiving a delegation from United Nation’s (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) led by El Hadji Maliek Sow from Senegal, at his office in Parliament here Monday.

“People must understand that the licence was issued a long time ago and the Home Ministry is doing all it can to tackle the problem.”

“One of the initiatives was to ask Bukit Aman CID Director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin and Commercial Crimes Investigations Director Datuk Koh Hong Sun to set up a special task force.”

“The issue is closely related to black economy involving an estimated RM10bil and related to illegal activities like human trafficking, illegal money laundering or Ah Long,” he said.

“So, apart from us increasing surveillance, monitoring and preventive measures, the state governments must also support such efforts by coming out with recommendations to overcome the issue,” he said.

Asked if the government would be required to compensate those involved if the licence was withdrawn, Hishammuddin said: “The question of compensation does not arise as the licence was issued a long time ago.”

The issue of legalising football betting hit a brick wall when Selangor, Penang and Kedah refused to allow such activities in their states although Ascot Sports was issued a sports-betting licence by the government.