Genting denies involvement in any Johor casino talks

PETALING JAYA: Genting Malaysia Bhd has denied reports that its deputy chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay had participated in talks with Putrajaya about opening a casino in Johor's Forest City.

“Genting Malaysia Bhd wishes to state that neither the company nor Tan Sri Lim was involved in any such discussions or meetings and the claims made are untrue,” it said in a statement Saturday (April 27).

It also urged all parties to cease publication and dissemination of the misinformation immediately, remove the claims, and provide necessary clarification to the public to prevent further confusion.

“Genting Malaysia Bhd shall not hesitate to take further action deemed necessary to protect its interests and its stakeholders,” it said.

This statement comes shortly after Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) also denied the claim that its founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan was part of the discussions, along with Genting.

BCorp said the articles included “inaccurate information” that misrepresented its supposed involvement in discussions with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim regarding the Forest City project.

“We would like to make it clear that Tan has not participated in any such discussion, and refute the inaccurate claims presented in the articles,” BCorp said.

Anwar had also earlier affirmed that there are no plans to issue the country’s second casino licence to Forest City.

“Those who raised the issue of a casino licence lied. It is not true. That’s a lie,” he said on Thursday (April 25).

A report from Bloomberg this week claimed that Lim and Tan were in early discussions with the government on opening a casino in Forest City, and that they had met Anwar last week.

Genting has held the only casino licence in Malaysia since 1969, and operates the country’s only casino in Genting Highlands.