Sultan Ibrahim already said no to casino in Johor, says MB

Menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said Sultan Ibrahim’s opposition to casinos operating in the state ‘clearly shows Johor’s stand on the matter’. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi is the latest to rubbish a Bloomberg report on the alleged plans to open a casino in Forest City in the state.

Onn Hafiz said no casino would be allowed to operate in the state, pointing out that the Johor ruler, Sultan Ibrahim, who is now Yang di-Pertuan Agong, had said he would not allow it.

“This clearly shows Johor’s stand on the matter,” he said in a statement.

“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.”

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met Berjaya Corporation Bhd founder Vincent Tan and Genting Group’s 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.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, had denied the report, saying it was “not true” and “a lie”. Berjaya Corp has also issued a denial.

Today, the prime minister called for “the necessary action” to be taken against the New York-based media organisation.

In his statement, Onn Hafiz also said the state government had never received any invitation to such meetings or proposals on the matter.

He expressed confidence that Forest City would be given a new lease of life with the development of a special financial zone and the upcoming Johor-Singapore special economic zone.