PM Anwar Ibrahim Banks Issues Malaysia Builds Second Gambling House In Johor

JAKARTA - Malaysian Prime Minister (PM) Anwar Ibrahim dismissed the issue of building a casino or it would be the second gambling house to be worked on at Forest Xity Johor.

This was confirmed by Anwar while attending the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, May 14, when asked by the media about the second casino permit in Malaysia.

"Afirmative or not," said Anwar, who is also the Minister of Finance of Malaysia, quoted from Channel News Asia, Wednesday, May 15.

Anwar added that Malaysia's current focus is sufficient to encourage economic growth in the future.

"Malaysia doesn't have to go into the casino business (second). We focus on digital transformation, energy transition (and) AI, and we believe this (between industries) is enough to push this country forward," said Anwar.

This issue emerged after Bloomberg reported that Malaysia was having initial discussions with tycoons about the opening of a casino in the Forest City property development area in Johor last month.

A number of Malaysian and foreign media, including the Singapore daily The Straits Times, which quoted unnamed sources as also reported the casino was included in Malaysian documents for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Earlier this month, Malaysian authorities questioned the issue of the construction of a second casino in Johor by reporting a number of parties, including Bloomberg journalists who started the issue.