A DAP parliamentarian joined Islamic NGOs in urging the government to revoke the sports gambling license given to Ascot Sports, a subsidiary of the Berjaya Group yesterday.

The license was reportedly awarded by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also the finance minister.

NONE Rasah MP Anthony Loke ( left ) claimed that they are against the legalising of sports gambling not only because of its negative social impact but also because of how the government handled the whole deal.

"The government had been very secretive in awarding the license to Berjaya," he said.

He added he did ask in Parliament a month ago if the license was given to Ascot but did not get a reply.

The Dap MP said that although government's revenues would increase, the social cost that the country would have to bear will be enormous.

"This is a very bad decision as it will affect future generations. The government's justification that the money would be used for sports development is short sighted," he continued.

He added that the lack of discourse to gauge the public's feedback and the lack of consultation prior to the approval of the license showed that the decision was made hastily.

"The government should instead focus on combating illegal gambling and not use it as an excuse to legalise sports gambling," he said.

'Legalise drugs and prostitution too'

If the government is using this as a justification, Loke asked if the same can be said about prostitution.

"Should we legalise prostitution as well? It could be a form of revenue too," he added.

zaid kamaruddin interview interfaith 010606 pointing out President of Pertubuhan Jemaah Islah Malaysia Zaid Kamaruddin ( right ) concurred and added that drugs could be legalised too if the government wanted more revenue.

"This is an irresponsible reason to legalise gambling."

He added that the government should be aware that its legalisation, could negatively affect a lot of families.

"People are watching and they may feel strongly enough to vote against them in the next general election," he predicted.

Meanwhile, President of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia, Muhamad Razak Idris, called strongly for the government to revoke the gambling license to Berjaya.

"We should not encourage the gambling habit as it will bring about negative social impact. It is also against our religion," he said.

Razak added that sports should not be used for betting as this will undermine its spirit and its true purpose.

He felt that the revenue from sports gambling would also lead to an increase of social ills it might eventually cost the government much more to control its negative consequences.

Another form of entertainment

MCA vice president Gan Ping Sieu ( below ) however felt that as long as the government provide for adequate regulation, its legalisation is not entirely bad.

mca youth police report 270508 gan ping shou "If gambling is controlled well, then it would just be another form of entertainment and therefore would not be burdensome to the people." He said problems only arose when people gamble excessively.

Gan said that with the globalisation of the gaming industry, its management and regulation was very challenging.

"Especially now that they are based online, it is even more difficult for the government to control gambling. The vital issue here is regulation," he said.

But he felt that it is important for the government to conduct social impact studies before and after the legalisation to ensure that the best practices were adopted.

"It is not justifiable to legalise gambling purely on revenue basis."

He explained that regulation should involve public education as well.

'Withdraw Berjaya's new gaming concession now'