KUALA KUBU BAHARU – The government has not decided if it will take any action against media that reported alleged talks between the prime minister and corporate figures for a casino in Forest City, Johor.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who is also government spokesman, said he would wait for the cabinet to discuss the matter first.
“I have not yet received detailed information and we will have a cabinet meeting tomorrow.
“I also understand that several police reports have been made and I have not seen the details, so I may have to wait for the cabinet meeting first,” he told reporters after a working visit to the National Information Dissemination Centre here today.
Fahmi was asked to comment on a Bloomberg report which claimed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had met Berjaya Corp founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan and the Genting Group’s Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay for preliminary talks on setting up a casino in Forest City to revive the area.
Anwar, Berjaya and Genting have denied the talks.
Berjaya has also lodged a police report calling for an investigation into finding the source of such information.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the talks, Bloomberg also said a representative of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, who is Johor’s ruler, was also present, as he is a shareholder in the joint venture with China firm Country Garden as Forest City’s master developer.
The beleaguered US$100 billion (RM480 billion) project, which began in 2006, has been dubbed a “white elephant” by some media.
In August last year, Anwar said Forest City would be made into a special financial zone. This, along with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, would give Malaysia a competitive advantage in attracting foreign investments. – April 29, 2024