Malaysia Prime Minister says government will not approve more casinos in the country

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his government will not consider approving another casino in the Southeast Asian nation. In response to Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin at the Qatar Economic Forum, who asked if his administration would allow a second casino in Malaysia, Anwar said: “Affirmative no."

“There’s no necessity for Malaysia to venture into the casino business,” he said. “We are focusing on digital transformation, energy transition, and AI, and we believe that this is adequate to push the country forward.”

Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Malaysia was in early discussions with tycoons on opening a casino in Forest City, a property development in Johor state near neighboring Singapore. 

The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said Anwar discussed the idea with Berjaya Corp. founder Vincent Tan and Genting Group’s Lim Kok Thay. The sources added that King Ibrahim Iskandar was also represented.

Anwar later said that there were no plans to issue a casino license in Forest City, and denied the content of the report. Tan and Lim also denied participating in such a meeting.

On Tuesday, Anwar said that he responded strongly to the report because it was disrespectful to the king, adding that "it’s time to move on." Meanwhile, the Malaysian authorities have charged several people for making seditious remarks on social media and a private WhatsApp group in response to the casino report.

After Bloomberg’s report was published, Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi also stated that no casinos would be opened or allowed to operate in the state.

Casinos are controversial in Malaysia as it is a Muslim-majority country. The nation has granted only one casino license since 1969, which was given to Genting. The casino contributed as much as 5 billion ringgit ($1.1 billion) annually to the government’s revenue before the pandemic, as per a report by UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Ltd., a Singapore-based brokerage.