Sanusi to Ramkarpal: Come give Muslims a talk about not gambling

Kuala Lumpur, August 26 - Kedah's Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, has challenged DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh to address Muslims on the detrimental effects of gambling. This came after Ramkarpal urged the state government to concentrate on educating Muslims about gambling rather than attempting to circumvent a Federal Court ruling on commercial gaming licenses.

At a briefing on the obstacles Kedah faces in enforcing its ban on gambling, Sanusi emphasized that his administration would persist in its efforts to eradicate gaming establishments. He remarked, "We already have someone from DAP reminding us not to look for ways (to ban gambling in Kedah). Fine, we'll invite him to give a talk later. Let DAP give a talk to Muslims telling them not to gamble."

Following the Federal Court's dismissal of the Kedah government's appeal against the appellate court's ruling that found their refusal to renew licenses for lottery and pool betting operators in violation of the constitution, Sanusi stated that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who also serves as Finance Minister, holds the final decision on whether to permit or prohibit gambling activities in the state.

Sanusi cautioned that approving licenses for gaming outlets would likely provoke widespread public opposition in Kedah. "So the ball is in the finance minister's court," he warned. During the same event, PAS's central legal and human rights bureau chairman, Wan Rohimi Wan Daud, suggested that gaming operators are preparing a similar legal challenge in Perlis against the state's ban on numbers forecast outlets.

Wan Rohimi, also the member of the Perlis state legislature for Melor, noted that a group has already initiated court proceedings to overturn the policy. "What Kedah has gone through may spread to Perlis next. I was informed that in Perlis, this gambling group has already filed a new case," he said. Perlis' Chief Minister, Abu Bakar Hamzah, reaffirmed his administration's commitment to completely eliminating gaming operations, following the closure of the last betting outlet in Padang Besar in March.