Anwar Ibrahim Says No To Second Casino Under His Administration

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stated that no second casino licence will be granted under his administration, citing ‘no need’ for it.

Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha yesterday, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Malaysia is currently focusing on the digital transformation of the country, along with energy transition and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors.

Hence, there will be no need for a second casino licence to be granted to anyone in Malaysia.

According to a report from Bernama, Anwar stated this in a response to the forum’s moderator during the plenary session.

Anwar was asked during the session on whether Malaysia is considering granting a second casino licence.

This follows previous reports from foreign news outlets that the Malaysian government is considering granting a second casino licence in Forest City, Iskandar Puteri, Johor.

These reports were vehemently denied by Anwar himself, and also by Johor’s Menteri Besar, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

Johor MB denies rumors of second casino

In a separate news report from The Star, Onn has dismissed the possibility of a second casino in Forest City, and also said that a report that stated that the licence has already been issued and the casino project is already ongoing as highly defamatory.

He stated that with the federal government’s support, it is now time to rebuild Forest City into something that will benefit the people of Johor.

Police report already filed on Forest City casino rumors.

On April 26, Berjaya Corp  lodged a police report against an international news agency article alleging that business tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan was involved in discussions with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim regarding the opening of a casino in Forest City.

In the article, Berjaya Corp was named along with Anwar and Genting Malaysia Bhd, which also came out and denied the reports.