PAS, DAP gambling on consensus
by Himanshu Bhatt and Maria J. Dass, The Sun
GEORGE TOWN (March 6, 2011): PAS and DAP seem to be going head to head over the issue of legal betting, with the former calling on the latter to “look at the bigger picture”.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said PAS will bring up the issue of gambling in this country at the next Pakatan Rakyat (PR) top leaders meeting for a resolution.
The recent actions by the Kelantan government in acting against premises selling lottery tickets have drawn criticisms from DAP leaders – most recently from DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who had asked the state government to lift its ban, pointing out that legalised gambling is constitutionally allowed in the country.
Karpal said in the case of legalised lottery, federal law applied and not state law.
The Bukit Gelugor MP said that the law on gambling was passed in Parliament, which found it fit even though the majority of the people in the country are Muslims.
“These apparent differences in the stands taken by the DAP and PAS needed to be resolved,” said Karpal when contacted.
He said a meeting including the Parti Keadilan Rakyat leadership would be arranged to discuss the issue.
“The Pakatan parties should sort out this matter once and for all.
“Our position is clear. We stand for what is in line with the law and national interest,” he added, stressing that licensed gambling is allowed under Malaysian law.
But Mustafa defended the state government’s actions, saying that it has been Kelantan’s policy over the last 20 years to reject any form of gambling.
“This issue should be looked at from a broader perspective, and not from the viewpoint of Muslims and non-Muslims only,” he said when contacted.
“What we need to look at are the social ills brought on by gambling,” Mustafa said, adding that it (gambling) is rejected by all religions and the principals on which the foundation for good families, societies and countries are built on.
“We want PR to have a firm and different approach than BN in this matter,” Mustafa said.
Three shops were raided last week by the Kota Baru Municipal Council for violating the regulations of their premises licences, which barred them from selling lottery tickets at those premises.
Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has assured Penangites his government will not take the cue from Kelantan in banning lottery enterprises that are already legally operating in the state.
Lim stressed that although the state had announced last year that it would not allow sports betting, it is not planning to interfere or stop lottery programmes that are already running.
“There is no issue (of such banning) in Penang,” he said today. We will not extend the ban on sports betting to the other gambling operations.
“What is already present should not be interfered with and harassed,” he said.
Lim explained that Penang’s policy against allowing sports betting was related to it being connected to sports, in particular football, and was therefore different from the lottery.
“Football should not be mixed with betting,” he said during a walkabout at the Reservoir Garden market here to hand out flowers to women in conjunction with International Women’s Day which falls tomorrow.
PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan said all states in the country should follow the example set by Kelantan in banning gambling.
He had also expressed hope that the other states run by PR would undertake action plans to curb all forms of gambling activities.
