Cadangan untuk membangunkan Kasino yang ke dua di negara Malaysia yang dikatakan bukan negara sekular oleh Jamil Khir semalam ini datangnya dari kroni UMNO/BN.
Beliau dilaporkan bercadang untuk melabur RM3 Billion untuk sebuah Kasino di Berjaya Hill yang terletak beberapa minit perjalanan dari Genting Highland.
Pelaburan berjumlah RM3 Billion itu bertujuan membangunkan Berjaya Hill sebagai pusat pelancongan bertaraf dunia selain sebagai pusat pelancongan terbesar di Malaysia.
"Rakyat Malaysia dan warga asing membelanjakan wang mereka untuk berjudi, hotel dan makanan di Singapura, Macau, Kemboja, Filipina dan Las Vegas. Saya pasti mereka akan suka datang ke sini. Kita boleh menjangkakan ketibaan beratus-ratus bas dari Singapura," katanya.
Kroni UMNO/BN ini telah memohon lesen untuk mengendalikan kasino di Berjaya Hills lebih daripada 10 tahun lalu, tetapi ia telah ditolak berikutan bantahan daripada sesetengah pihak.
Berjaya Hills, yang berada hanya beberapa minit pemanduan dari kasino tunggal di negara ini di Genting Highlands, pada masa ini hanya mempunyai permit untuk mengendalikan mesin slot.
Vincent Tan berkata beliau berhasrat untuk melabur RM3 bilion pada awalnya dalam kasino ini, untuk menjadikan Berjaya Hillls sebuah destinasi pelancongan bertaraf dunia dan projek pembangunan pelancongan terbesar di Malaysia.
Kompleks yang terletak berhampiran Genting Highlands ini, akan mempunyai pusat perjudian, taman tema dalaman dan luaran, kedai makanan, gedung runcit, hotel, pusat konvensyen dan rumah percutian.
Beliau turut memberitahu akhbar itu bahawa kasino itu akan menyediakan peluang pekerjaan bagi kira-kira 10,000 penduduk tempatan.
Jika ianya diluluskan maka ini adalah Kasino yang kedua di negeri Pahang yang terletak dalam Malaysia negara bukan sekular..
Vincent Tan tries to revive casino plan in Berjaya Hills Resort
As the debates rages on over Malaysia’s status as a secular state and the renewed interest in hudud, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan wants to revive his plan to operate a casino at the Berjaya Hills Resort in Pahang.
The Berjaya group founder said he hoped there would be no objections from any party as the casino complex would benefit Malaysia in terms of foreign exchange and economic spillovers.
“Malaysians and foreigners are spending their money on gambling, hotels and food in Singapore, Macau, Cambodia, the Philippines and Las Vegas. I’m sure they would like to come here. We can expect hundreds of buses from Singapore here,” he told the New Straits today in an exclusive interview.
Tan had applied for a licence to operate a casino in Berjaya Hills more than 10 years ago but it was rejected amid protests from some quarters.
Berjaya Hills, which is just minutes away from the country’s only casino in Genting Highlands, currently has a permit to operate slot machines.
Tan said he intended to invest RM3 billion initially in the casino to turn Berjaya Hillls into a world-class tourist destination and Malaysia’s biggest tourism development.
The complex, located near Genting Highlands, will include a gaming centre, indoor and outdoor theme parks, food outlets, a retail mall, hotels, a convention centre and holiday homes.
Tan told the paper the casino would provide jobs for about 10,000 locals.
“We will reapply for the licence. Malaysia should not stick to one operator. It should be shared with other operators as tourism developments can generate a lot of income for the country," Tan was quoted as saying.
“South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are looking to give out licences to operate casinos as they realise the full potential of such developments.
“We will market Berjaya Hills as a new casino destination globally. I have 4,600ha in Berjaya Hills and there is lot that can be done with such a licence,” he said.
Tan’s plan to revive is his latest shot at a gambling licence. In 2010, Tan’s attempt to launch sports betting was aborted after Putrajaya, which had initially granted a betting licence to Ascot Sports, a company controlled by Tan, developed cold feet and withdrew the licence following stiff opposition.
“By legalising sports betting… the government could earn annual revenue of up to RM3 billion through taxes,” Tan was quoted as saying by the English-language New Sunday Times newspaper.
“Why are some politicians so against this?”
Muslim groups have denounced gambling and three Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states have imposed a ban on legalised sports betting which they fear could cause debt problems for punters and other social woes.
Unofficial estimates put the illegal sports betting market in Malaysia as being worth as much as RM20 billion a year.
Malaysia bans its majority Muslims from gambling but allows betting at a casino operated by Genting Group, on the national lottery and on horse-racing ~ The Malaysian Insider
Macai-macai tentu suka.. kan ada 10,000 peluang pekerjaan tu.. halal haram belakang kira..