'Suddenly there is a change of heart among Umno leaders towards the Chinese and they are now sensitive to Chinese rights. Is it for real? There is enough gambling available for the Chinese to indulge in and we do not need another one in sports betting.'

Dr M - an unlikely minority rights defender

Pete Stop: When we ask for our rights to be treated equitably in this homeland, also for our children to be able to pursue their education equitably, via the Suqiu organisation years ago, he (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) called them communist.

Now when his crony Vincent Tan asks for a gambling licence, he says he is just protecting Chinese 'rights' to gamble. What a load of crap. To those ‘ buta ' (blind) Chinese, please wake up.

Sarajun Hoda: Who can blame Mahathir's top man, former inspector-general of police Hanif Omar, who said in court that he does not know if gambling is ' haram ' in the holy book Al Quran. After all, he earned enormously by being a director in Genting Highlands casino.

And now Mahathir is suggesting more licences to be issued so that more Malay directors can mint money in such set-ups?

Today: I am Chinese and gambling has never been a custom or a habit of our race. I am against any sort of gambling and I will always say no to gambling, because it only makes a few business tycoons rich while making Chinese gamblers poorer.

So if anyone says that Chinese need to gamble, then please tell me what white people do in Las Vegas as they are not Chinese. Please remember that gambling is a very bad and evil habit. And if the government of today promotes gambling, that means promoting bad culture and is as good as poisoning your own citizens regardless of race.

Foo Wy Len: "Right of Chinese to gamble"? What about the right to be treated fairly as Malaysians? And while we are talking about gambling, why not drop by any Sports Toto outlet? I'm sure you'll find Chinese there and you can be equally sure many won't be Chinese either.

Sports betting: Rais turning Chinese into scapegoats

Keng Yew: As a Malaysian of Chinese descent, I am truly offended. Because not only are our mothers and sisters deemed as prostitutes, now we are apparently gamblers with low moral standing.

While we are at it, why not legalise prostitution then? A lot of men would love that, right? And the government can be creative, since male prostitutes would also be in great demand.

I am sure they can also give a monopolistic, master-franchiser licence to one of their cronies, enabling them to give sub-franchise licences to individual prostitutes for a fee. Then the government can use taxes from prostitution to set up institutes to talk about the importance of marriage and effects of promiscuity.

Praveen: Saying that gambling is a Chinese culture is utter nonsense. All nationalities all over the world gamble, it is not a culture confined to the Chinese and non-Malays. To see my point, all one has to do is to visit one Magnum or Toto outlet - about 50 percent of their clients are Muslim Malays.

No religion encourages gambling. I cannot understand how a PhD-holding minister (Rais Yatim) can express such boyish views - lacking in intellect, logic and honesty. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said the same nonsense. For our ministers who have nothing intelligent to say, it is better to be silent and not make fools of themselves.

If the licence is a done deal, go ahead but do not make any race the scapegoat because it makes you look silly.

Yeoh Chee Weng: Those who gamble pay the price of penury. I do not know of anyone whose takings from gambling last long. There are enough fools who have to resort to Ah Long to pay their gambling debts to make it a common and regular occurrence.

By Umno's logic, is it time to legalise corruption and racial abuse? Cronyism has already been "legalised."

David: Suddenly it's all about catering to the Chinese. The truth is crystal clear, these so-called Muslims are the ones pushing for legalising betting simply because of their overwhelming greed. Shameless.

Louis: Suddenly there is a change of heart among Umno leaders towards the Chinese and are now sensitive to Chinese rights. Is it for real? There is enough gambling available for the Chinese to indulge in and we do not need another one in sports betting.

They went further in claiming gambling is in the Chinese blood. Which authority says that? I see ulterior motives in them. They know that gambling is bad and they willingly condone it on "behalf of the Chinese".

Isn't it cruel considering that many families will suffer due to gambling debts? There are many rights of Chinese denied by Umno and the list is too long. If they really are sensitive to the Chinese rights, attend to those denied to Chinese thus far.

Umno Youth against football betting

Sabah Maju: Alas, it appears democracy is alive in Umno. Unlike in MIC - where it's mandatory for everyone to be thinking like party boss S Samy Vellu - meaning no one must be thinking very much - here is a voice from Umno's wilderness disagreeing with the idea of legalising football betting.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin is right, non-Muslims (including Muslims at the side) gamble, but it does not mean that their communities condone gambling. Gambling is a sin as well as a social vice and our Malaysian society has enough social problems to address, without adding another one to the list.

Consider the 'girl industry' in Thailand which is legalised to control and regulate prostitution. Prostitution has grown into a big industry in Thailand giving rise to sex tourism and international trafficking of women - making the country unable to shake off its stigma as a 'Babylon'.

Does Malaysia need to promote this kind of activity among its people?

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