Malaysia’s Anwar calls for action against news agency as rumours of Forest City casino stir heated debate
- Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said parties named in a Bloomberg report on alleged plans for a new casino in the troubled Forest City project must take “necessary action”
- Anwar strongly denied the reported casino proposal, which has sparked controversy and opposition in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where gambling is taboo
On Thursday, Bloomberg ran a story citing sources who said that Anwar had met with two Malaysian tycoons for preliminary talks to potentially develop a casino in a bid to boost Forest City’s revival, with representatives of King Ibrahim Iskandar also present.
The two businessmen were reportedly Lim Kok Thay of Genting Group, which runs the country’s only casino, and Vincent Tan of the Berjaya Corp, which owns Malaysia’s largest lottery business.
“Those who are mentioned [in the report], must take the necessary action,” Anwar was quoted as saying on Friday in a report by local news outlet Bernama.
Anwar had earlier dismissed the Bloomberg report as “a lie”, after it was widely picked up by local news and went viral on social media.
In a statement released Friday, Berjaya Corp denied that its founder Tan had been any part of talks to potentially set up a casino in Forest City, saying the report included “inaccurate information” regarding his alleged involvement in discussions with the prime minister.