Malaysia Initiates Criminal Inquiry Over Casino News from Johor
Malaysian police have launched an investigation into a story published by Bloomberg that alleges Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with two billionaires from the gaming industry to discuss a potential casino resort development in Johor's Forest City.
Inaccurate news reports can spark anger among the public in the US, but in Malaysia, they could lead to imprisonment.
On Friday, Royal Malaysia Police Inspector-General Razarudin Husain confirmed that an investigation is underway into the origins of the Bloomberg story titled "Malaysia in Talks With Tycoons on Casino to Revive $100 Billion Forest City." On Monday, Ram Anand, one of the journalists behind the article, was spotted entering the Bukit Aman police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur around 8:30 a.m. local time. He reportedly submitted a statement to the authorities regarding the sources for the story. Anand later exited the police station after roughly two and a half hours.
Anwar and the two gaming tycoons mentioned in the Bloomberg report, Genting Group Chairman Lim Kok Thay and Berjaya Corporation Chairman Vincent Tan, have both denied considering a casino project in Forest City.
Legal Action
After dismissing the casino rumors and calling the Bloomberg story "a lie" and "not true," Anwar urged Lim and Tan to sue the business news outlet. Berjaya Corporation allegedly followed through and filed a complaint with police, citing the country's 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act, a subpart of the Malaysia Penal Code.
In response to the denials, Bloomberg published another article written by Singapore-based journalist Marcus Wright that explains the refutations from the Malaysian prime minister and two billionaires.
The original report stated that Ram's source for the story were "people familiar with the matter." The article mentioned that unless Anwar was "serious" about the casino project in Forest City, a $100 billion luxury mixed-use development that has largely remained a ghost town, the discussions were "preliminary."
Genting operates Malaysia's only casino, Resorts World Genting, which is located in the Pahang Highlands. The company also operates Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, just outside Forest City.
Berjaya is one of Malaysia's largest conglomerates and operates a lottery division that holds Malaysia's exclusive lottery rights.
Potential Penalties
The Communications and Multimedia Act, enacted by the Malaysian Parliament, is designed to manage the converging communications and multimedia industries and outlines the legal consequences for breaking the law. While most journalists in Malaysia who are accused of publishing fake news under the 1998 Act face a small financial penalty, those who refuse to provide statements to law enforcement in response to a complaint risk facing prison time. Individuals who knowingly provide false statements to police about their reporting or sources can be sentenced to up to six months in prison.
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Source: www.casino.org
