JOHOR Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi has rubbished a Bloomberg report on the alleged plans to open a casino in Forest City in the state.
Onn Hafiz maintained that no casino would be allowed to operate in the state, pointing out that His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, who is also the Johor Sultan, had said he would not allow it.
“This clearly shows Johor’s stand on the matter,” Onn Hafiz said in a statement on Friday (April 26).
“Everyone is well aware that the state government, with the federal government’s support, is working on spurring and improving Johor’s economy to create high-quality and high-skill jobs for Johoreans.
“Therefore, this rumour that went viral seems to involve elements of sabotage and malicious intentions to tarnish the image of Forest City and Johor as a whole.”
On Thursday (April 25), Bloomberg reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim met Berjaya Corporation Bhd founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Genting Group’s Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay last week to discuss a casino licence for the Forest City development.
Quoting sources “familiar with the matter”, it reported that a casino would revive the US$100 billion property project.
Earlier today, Anwar had rejected a news report claiming his administration was in talks to open a casino in the state.
“Those who brought up the idea on casino licence are telling a lie, that’s not right,” Anwar said when met by reporters here at a joint Hari Raya open house by Housing and Local Government Ministry and Communications Ministry.
Similarly, Berjaya Corporation Bhd has denied the Bloomberg report, saying that the report – which was also carried by The Edge Singapore – contained inaccurate information that misrepresented the company’s involvement in talks with Anwar concerning Forest City.
“We would like to make it clear that Tan has not participated in any such discussions,” the company said in a statement, describing the article as containing inaccurate claims.
Berjaya also asked Bloomberg and The Edge Singapore to “remove any misleading content” in the articles and to halt further dissemination of the “inaccurate information” involved. – April 26, 2024
Main pic credit: The Sun Daily
