Jumlah premis judi kekal sejak 1990-an, kata MoF
Kementerian Kewangan jawab kenyataan menteri besar Kedah yang cuba menggambarkan kerajaan tidak mengawal aktiviti judi di negeri itu.
The Malaysian Finance Ministry has confirmed there are no new licenses or increased gambling premises, refuting Kedah Chief Minister Sanusi Nor's claims of a lack of control over gambling activities. The ministry maintains that the number of licenses and permits has remained consistent since 1990. The ministry also sets strict conditions for license holders.
Madani's government continues to take a firm and responsible approach by curbing gambling activities, ensuring strict monitoring and harsh penalties for unauthorized activities and online gambling. No proposals were made to ban gambling nationwide or annul existing licenses during the period from 2020 to 2022, which included the PAS coalition.
The ministry further explained that the number of special draws was reduced from 22 to eight times a year under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020, before being reverted to 22 times by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) government. Following the end of Madani's administration in late 2022, the initial decision was to cancel the increase and reduce the frequency of special draws back to eight times a year starting January 2023.
On August 12, the Federal Court rejected Kedah's appeal to overturn its decision to halt the issuance and renewal of permits for number prediction game operators. The Federal Court also ordered the state government to pay a RM50,000 fee as the three-judge panel found Kedah's application to be insufficient for obtaining special leave.
Prior to this, the Federal Court upheld the High Court's decision in December of the previous year, which found Kedah's action to halt the issuance and renewal of gambling permits contrary to the Constitution. The court's majority opinion considered gambling and lottery matters to fall under federal jurisdiction, including the power of the Finance Ministry to issue and oversee gambling licenses.
Earlier, Sanusi had warned the prime minister that allowing gambling activities to resume in Kedah would anger the state's residents. Speaking at a news conference on the Halal Gambling Ban in Kedah on Tuesday evening, he said the state government had done everything possible to curb activities through a comprehensive ban on gambling premises and lotteries in Kedah.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
