Give the Malays casino licences
Zaid Ibrahim
The Genting Group is investing heavily again in its homeland Malaysia. The corporation announced a RM7 billion expansion plan that will include theme parks, 6-star resorts and villas. The Prime Minister himself was at the launch. I am happy that Genting is at last ploughing back some of the obscene profits it has raked in over the years and that it is back in Malaysia after many years of investing heavily overseas. After its foray into Australia, the US and lately Singapore, it’s about time we see some local re-investment.
Still, the success of Genting makes me want to cry. Many years ago I had advocated a fairer gaming policy in the country in the belief that the Malays should be allowed to participate in this lucrative industry. I objected strongly to the gaming monopoly, the likes of which you won’t find anywhere else in the world. It’s a ruse to enrich cronies, nothing more. If Islam were the real reason for disallowing the Malays from taking part, then there should be an outright ban.
When the Government scrapped the Social Welfare Lottery, I told the Finance Minister at the time that it was a mistake to privatise the lottery. Other countries used the proceeds for public use and public projects, so why shouldn’t we? At that time the Government used the lottery’s proceeds to help the poor, repair dilapidated homes, etc. Now it’s the tycoons who make money from the business but they give only to selected charities helmed by selected personalities.
I told whoever was prepared to listen that the monopoly over the multibillion ringgit gaming industry was in the hands of a few non-Malay tycoons, so why not keep the social welfare lottery for the rakyat? I was told the Government could not engage in such sinful business. In the Dewan Rakyat I raised the matter again. If indeed gaming was such a big sin then permitting non-Muslim tycoons to monopolise the business would surely double the original sin. The act of issuing the licence must be a sin as well, and since the Malays now got nothing and the public received little by way of charity from these tycoons, then God would punish these leaders with more severity. God knows who the hypocrites are.
Is the Najib administration less hypocritical and more willing to empower the Malays? The gaming industry coupled with the entertainment industry has an annual turnover in excess of RM3 billion. That’s not taking into account the gaming business that exists online and underground. Why should the Government deny the Malays such an opportunity if they are prepared to bear the sin themselves? These Malay entrepreneurs could also donate handsomely and may even do more to help the economic life of the Muslim community.
Now there is talk we are going to have a second casino in Iskandar. If the PM is disposed to having another casino, I hope he will offer the Malays this opportunity to make some easy money. Iskandar business model of high end property development, high technology companies may not be suitable for the Malays; they have small capital and their skills are limited, thanks to our education system. Its time the government give back to the Malays something tangible in Iskandar. Give them a casino.
The NEP promised us all that race/ethnicity would no longer be synonymous with specific occupations and business identifications. We were also instructed to stop thinking of the Chinese as the towkay and the Malays as workers. This is something I have always agreed with wholeheartedly. However, Malay hypocrites decided to curb the Malays by limiting the businesses they could participate in. In the name of religion, they are stopped from engaging in business that is deemed to be even remotely sinful. If I apply for a transport licence to carry crates of beer for Carlsberg, chances are it will not be approved. If I want to open a fully licensed restaurant, that too will likely not be approved because I am a Muslim. The policy is to prohibit Muslims from selling liquor, yet it is these same Muslim policymakers who are drinking in London, Vegas and elsewhere.
