Sabah PKR slams casino plan: Najib and Musa must clarify
(Malaysia Chronicle) – Sabah’s PKR Director of Communications Ronnie Klassen has demanded the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Musa Aman, to come clean and explain the purported plans that a CASINO is on the cards in Prime Minister’s Najib Tun Razak “Economic Transformation Plans (ETP)”
Musa Aman must explain to Malaysians in Sabah, “has the State Government of Sabah given the APPROVAL for the go-ahead of a Casino?”. If Musa Aman has given the nod for this Casino, when and why was it approved?
During the ETP open day yesterday, the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) revealed that the government was considering building a 500-acre “eco-nature” resort in Sabah, as part of a concerted effort to push Malaysia onto the integrated resort (IR) bandwagon and that the option to build a casino is on the table for the Karambunai IR — alongside a mangrove centre, water theme park and waterfront properties — to ensure a higher return on investment (ROI).
“We want the Musa Aman Administration to come out clean and explain whether they have given any approval or are contemplating building a casino in Sabah. Even though there has been no official admission from the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, the facts allude to the strong case where a casino will be built, under the guise of ensuring a higher ROI. All points lead to the fact that a casino will be established. Can our honorable Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman confirm or deny this?” said Klassen
Klassen further stressed that the proposal to build a casino showed how the present government administration is intent on “popularizing gambling” in the country, barely months after the huge outcry over Tan Sri Vincent Tan’s abortive attempt to introduce football betting.
Local council state laws in Sabah, requires a company to apply for a “trading license” to do any form of business, and trading licenses are issued by the the respective District Councils, Municipal Councils or City Hall. The Federal Treasury through the approval from the Federal Cabinet may approve such a Casino license, but without the issuance of a trading licence, such a Casino will not be able to operate even with the approval from the Prime Minister himself, stresses Ronnie.
If the Federal Cabinet had tabled and approved a Casino in Sabah,that would imply that the Minister’s from Sabah namely, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Datuk Maximus Ongkili, Datuk Shafie Apdal and Datuk Anifah Aman had given their consent.
