Johor MB refutes Forest City casino reports as baseless, malicious

JOHOR Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi today reiterated that there are no plans to build a casino in Forest City.

He said all news reports claiming that a licence had been issued and a casino project was in the pipeline were defamatory.

“Such claims are all baseless and are malicious.

“Enough is enough. With the help of the federal government, it is time for us to rebuild Forest City for the benefit of the people,” he told the Johor assembly.

Onn Hafiz was responding to a question from Liow Cai Tung (Johor Jaya-PH), who had earlier asked about reports on the alleged casino project in Forest City.

Last week, police recorded a statement from a Bloomberg journalist over a news report on purported plans to build a casino in Forest City. 

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the matter was being investigated for sedition, criminal defamation and the misuse of network facilities. 

Razarudin said the investigation was initiated after a police report lodged by a lawyer of Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan over the article, “Malaysia Mulls Casino at Forest City: Bloomberg”.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had met Tan and Genting Group chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, to discuss plans for a casino at the Forest City development, which has been described as a ghost town.

Anwar, Berjaya and Genting Malaysia have all rejected the claims made in the Bloomberg report.

Anwar had also suggested that those mentioned in the report take action against Bloomberg. – May 13, 2024.