CASINO IN SARAWAK? – WHAT’S WRONG! – STATE MINISTER SCOLDS FIRE-POKING PAS – ‘SARAWAK IS NOT JUST FOR MUSLIMS. MAGNUM & TOTO ARE ALSO GAMING OUTLETS, WHY DON’T OPPOSE THESE?’
State minister tells PAS nothing wrong with setting up casino in Sarawak
KUCHING — Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah today told Muslims opposing the setting up of a casino at the Borneo Highland that Sarawak belongs to all races with different religious beliefs.
He said he has heard some dissenters from Miri opposing the setting up of the casino on the grounds that gambling is “haram” in Islam.
“But there is nothing to set up the casino because Sarawak is not just for the Muslims,” Karim told reporters at his Hari Raya open house here.
He was referring to the objection by Sarawak PAS commissioner Jofri Jaraiee that the opening of the proposed casino would do more harm than good to the people.
According to Jofri, the move, if realised, could lead to gambling addiction and the eventual collapse of the family institution and also society.
He had said that such consequences outweigh the economic returns premised on casinos being a major stimulus for tourism development, by way of attracting both domestic and international tourists.
Karim questioned the state PAS why it only opposed the setting up of the casino when there are gaming outlets, such as Magnum and Toto, that is also operating in the state.
“These are also haram for the Muslims. But when the casino was mooted, everybody gets excited without realising that casino is not the only thing to be set up at the Borneo Highland resort,” he said,
He said as a Muslim, he personally would not go to the casino but stressed that there is nothing wrong to have one because Sarawak is not just for Muslims.
Karim explained that it is not just a casino that has been proposed, but there will also be an amusement park for the family and a golf course.
“The Borneo Highland development will be an integrated resort, and a casino may be part of it,” he said.
Karim, however, explained that the decision to set up a casino in Borneo Highland is for Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg to make.
“Whether a casino will be part of the Borneo Highland resort, we will leave to the state government to decide,” he said.
MALAY MAIL
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