Amid all the zeal in Umno trying to out-Islamise PAS to gain Malay votes, a very significant development was recently announced without much fanfare. I am referring to the opening of another casino in Bukit Tinggi, a stone's throw from the established Genting Casino.

This certainly flies against Malaysia being an Islamic country as claimed by Mahathir. It is a very strange decision especially with general elections around the corner, and will definitely cost many Malay votes. I am sure this decision has not gone down well within Umno itself.

The motives are really hard to fathom, besides the standard "boost to tourism" reply. Really, it is just a matter of the opposition to make maximum political mileage of it. This is the break that they badly need and this issue alone can tip the scales in their favour.