KUALA LUMPUR, November 16 — Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau has reportedly said that his party will meet with Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to discuss the cessation of licences for number forecast lottery operators in the northern state.
Malaysiakini reported today that Lau attested that the meeting will occur after the upcoming Melaka state poll.
“Yes, we have received a lot of complaints (about the ban) from Chinese and Indians. It’s not that they like to gamble, but they have rights under the Federal Constitution,” Lau was quoted as saying when met in Melaka today.
“We will ask (Sanusi) to consider this because our position is we are a multicultural society and he must consider the views of non-Muslims and non-Malays.
“We are hoping for a win-win situation,” he reportedly added.
Lau also said that there was a chance that the betting organisations would be driven underground by the new policy.
He added that the ban was specific to Kedah, and it would not affect his party’s commitment to seizing a win for Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the Melaka elections, slated for November 20.
Sanusi is a member of PAS, which is allied with Gerakan and Bersatu under the PN banner for the elections.
He had announced on November 14 that all numbers forecast lottery operators — commonly known as 4D shops — in the PAS-led state will no longer have their business licences renewed by local councils, citing moral and religious concerns surrounding the negative effects of gambling.
