Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor must give concrete evidence to back his denial that he no longer has the 64 million shares in Bukit Tinggi Resort Berhad which houses gaming slot machines, said PAS leader Husam Musa.

He said it is very hard for the rakyat to accept mere words of denial when he has official documents from the Companies Commission of Malaysia to prove that the minister in the prime minister's department still holds the shares which is currently valued at RM1 per unit.

He told malaysiakini that he had confirmed with the commission that the records which detailed the resort's shareholders are the latest information based o­n documents submitted by the company as at Feb 10 this year.

Name still listed

Husam urged Tengku Adnan to come forward with clear evidence and clarify his link to the resort whose biggest shareholder is Berjaya Group Berhad chairperson Vincent Tan.

"I think the records speak louder than Tengku Adnan's mere words of denial. He has to explain why his name is still listed as the company's second biggest shareholder. The people need solid evidence," he said.

Yesterday Husam revealed to malaysiakini that Tengku Adnan and Pasdec Corporation Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Pahang state economic development are the two major shareholders in Bukit Tinggi Resorts.

Tengku Adnan denied the claim stating that he had disposed off his stake two years ago when he was appointed deputy minister. Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob also claimed that Pasdec had sold its shares two years ago.

In its previous issue PAS party organ Harakah claimed that the federal government has issued a licence to the resort to operate Pahang's second casino and criticised the move as it promotes gambling.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied this saying that the resort was o­nly given a licence to operate 250 slot machines for members of the resort club and not for the public.

Adnan too, as the state SEDC chairperson, needs to put up solid evidence to support his statement that Pasdec had disposed its shares, said Husam.

"Anyone can say anything but whether they can prove it is something else. I stand by the documents that was provided by the commission," he said.

Not exclusive

Husam also questioned Mahathir's claim o­n the exclusivity of the slot machines to members stating that it contradicted the company's statement o­n the matter.

"The company's general manager Teh Ming Wah told DowJones newswire o­n Feb 24 that the gaming centre is open to visitors who have to pay RM16 as entrance fee. In fact she said that the resort is contemplating waiving the fee if the visitors use the gaming centre," he said.This means that anyone who visits the resort can freely use the computerised slot machines which feature games such as baccarat and roulette, he added.

Echoing Husam's view, DAP national publicity secretary Ronnie Liu said there is nothing wrong for anyone to refer to the gaming centre as a "casino" considering that it has 250 slot machines.

"The fact that o­ne needs o­nly to pay RM16 as membership fee to start playing the machines clearly testifies that it is indeed a casino. There is no reason for a club to own such a whopping number of slot machines," he said in a press statement.

He said the entrance fee is just a gimmick to label the resort as a club for legal purposes, adding the country does not need another casino as it would o­nly create more social ills for the people.

Transparency lacking

Meanwhile, Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her PRM counterpart Dr Syed Husin Ali said the approval for the operation of the slot machines should have been made in a more transparent manner.

"To us whether it is casino or slot machines, it is still gambling - an activity that cannot be encouraged. We have also been informed that a similar licence has been issued for another gaming centre in Tioman Island."

They also questioned Adnan's statement that the opening of gaming centre was allowed considering the rights of non-Muslims to gamble.

Instead of vehemently defending the non-Muslims' right to gamble, they said Adnan should fight for more important rights issues like those o­n the economy, education and social which are frequently ignored by the government.