Casino licence for Forest City a 'lie', says Anwar

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Madani Muhibbah Aidilfitri celebration in Putrajaya on Thursday (April 25).- Bernama

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed a news report that Putrajaya is mulling a second casino license for Forest City.

“On the casino license, it is untrue...That’s a lie,” he told reporters in a curt reply at the Madani Muhibbah Aidilfitri in Putrajaya on Thursday (April 25).

Bloomberg reported that Berjaya founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Genting Group’s Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay were in early discussions with the government on opening a casino in Forest City, Johor.

The report, quoting sources, said the casino project would revive the RM478.35 bil Forest City project.

As gambling was a highly regulated sector, casino licenses would have to be renewed on a quarterly basis at the discretion of the finance minister.

Genting Group holds the only casino license in Malaysia. The group has held the license since 1969 and operates the country’s only casino in Genting Highlands.