Should Putrajaya pull back sport betting licence?

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vox populi small thumbnail 'I don't know whether we can achieve developed nation by 2020, but I'm pretty sure we will be Asia's No 1 gambling hub by then.'

 

 

Guan Eng stands firm on football betting ban

Sentinel: We have seen enough families suffer because of gambling, including the four draws of the numbers game a week - Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and special draws on Tuesdays!

So much money thrown away which could have been used to buy better things for their families. Enough is enough! We should ban even the 4-Ds and Sports Toto. It's not about it being haram in Islam - we need to protect our people. Stand firm Guan Eng, the people are behind you all the way on this.

Pitycat: Maybe our government wanted to become the biggest bookie in Asia. Whether this thing is legal or illegal, you are messing up people's lives, especially the younger generation.

I don't know whether we can achieve developed nation by 2020, but I'm pretty sure we will be Asia's No1 gambling hub by then. With sports betting, we have the most complete 'legal' gambling activities in the region - casino, horse racing, lottery, 4D, 5D, 6D. This way, we would have beaten Japan, China and Korea. Muslim country, huh?

Voice: I've no objections to banning sports betting but I'm against any suggestion to ban 4D. 4D is not hardcore, it has been in this country for a few decades, it's going fine and nobody has complained. Why we complain now?

Because of the ban on sports betting, we have to ban 4D as well? Maybe we can reduce the number of draws so as not to burden the people.

Disgusted: That's right, Guan Eng should tell Vincent Tan to take his rubbish elsewhere. When Tan meant by donating to ‘charity' was contributing to BN to bring down Pakatan Rakyat governments.

Illegal gambling is thriving because of the police's ‘close one eye' policy. It is not for the Penang government to bring them to book, but the police. It looks like they have not done a good job here. Why blame the chief minister of Penang?

These activities have been in existence long before Pakatan took over Penang. They are also prevalent in all BN-ruled states, especially in KL and Johor.

Donation won't make gambling 'halal', says NGO

Edwin Tan: Malaysia already has "more than enough" entertaining activities such as 4D, horse racing, lottery ticket, and casino. We non-Muslims are ‘happy' with it, and we've paid a very high price for it, too, in the billions of ringgit each year going to tax revenue.

I wish not to demonise other existing gambling activities. But, for the sake of our younger generations, revoke this unnecessary sports gambling licence immediately. Any sensible government will listen to the voice of the people and put a stop to it. PAS is against it. PKR, DAP, MCA and Gerakan, too, are against it.

It's puzzling as to why only the Finance Ministry (the one that issued the licence) is the only one supporting this. Come on, PM Najib Abdul Razak. Your silence speak the loudest here.

My Rights: I don't think the intent of Vincent Tan's donation is to make it halal as gambling is allowed only for non-Muslims. While I think Tan has to explain further, we need to first understand the merits behind the donation before condemning him. The problem with many of the Malay NGOs is everything revolves around Islam and therefore everything is based on their moral values.

To the non-Muslims who support this NGO ( People's Movement Against Gambling) , you need to understand that you are encouraging them to eat into your rights as non-Muslims when you agree that it is haram . If you don't agree with gambling, give your own reasons, but don't support the call to stop gambling because it is haram . Haram does not apply to you.

You know what else is haram ? Your mother/sister/girlfriend/wife walking around without wearing a tudung . Eating pork is haram . Supporting this NGO on the basis of their ‘haram' argument means you've given the Muslim extremists permission to erode your non-Muslim rights.

Additionally, many Malaysians see it fit to impose their own moral values on other people and calling for a ban as long as these activities do not validate their standards of what's right and wrong. They think they are always right and others are always wrong, therefore so long as it's wrong to them, then it should be banned or condemned.

I am a pro-Pakatan person, but I am supportive of the government in this case. BN has shown itself to be more liberal and open-minded in dealing with a multiracial society than Pakatan. This sports betting is not for Muslims and is only open to non-Muslims.

So to those who are against this, I ask you to search deep in yourself: Do you think it's right to stop others from doing things if they don't agree with you? What if their next call is for no Malaysian couple, regardless of religious background, be allowed to hold hands in public because it is haram in Islam and doing this will only tempt the Muslims?

Keturunan Malaysia: I, too, have no problems with gambling. I have been gambling for more than half a century. I still do, from time to time. For me, anything goes... so long as I don't hurt anybody nor break any law. It is all about the ability to manage oneself, moderation and freedom of choice

What most of us are concerned about is the real intentions behind giving the licence to Vincent Tan, especially at this late hour and under the current financial and political climate, coupled with a less-than-credible government and so-called government leaders who have a known relationship with the beneficiary.

Goh Swee Soon: We may then as well approve prostitution, gay marriages, sodomy, software piracy, allow hard drinks to be consumed freely, etc. Umno is in desperate need of more income and ignore (the fact) that the root cause (behind the lack of government revenue) is massive corruption.

 


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