‘Johor casino claims aim to tarnish Forest City’s image’
Allegations that the construction of a casino in Forest City here has been approved are lies and completely baseless, said Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
Onn Hafiz said the claims were made by irresponsible parties to create malicious perceptions aimed at hindering Forest City’s development and its potential as a special financial zone.
“There were never plans to build a casino in Forest City. It was never discussed, nor did the state government even consider building a casino anywhere in Johor. I want to reiterate that the news surrounding this issue is entirely false and unfounded.
“It is slander, driven by malicious intent to tarnish the image of Forest City. It perpetuates negative perceptions to sabotage Forest City, much like what happened in 2018, with provocations and falsehoods,” he said.
In 2018, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reportedly said the government would not allow foreigners to buy residential units in the US$100 billion Forest City project.
However, developer Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd said the project complied with laws and regulations with regard to approvals needed to sell property to foreign buyers.
Onn Hafiz made the statement in reply to a question from Liow Cai Tung (DAP-Johor Jaya) at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here yesterday.
Liow sought clarification on international media reports claiming that the state government had approved the construction of a casino in Forest City.
The New Straits Times reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim denied allegations that a licence for a casino was approved by the government.
He also refuted Bloomberg’s claims that he met two journalists to discuss plans to open a casino in Forest City.
The report claimed that Anwar, government officials and businessmen had a meeting to discuss the possibility of issuing a second casino licence in Malaysia.
According to the report, present at the meeting were Berjaya Corporation Bhd founder and adviser Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Genting Hong Kong Ltd former chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.