DOHA: Malaysia does not need to rely on casino revenue to boost the country's income, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.
Anwar said the nation is focusing on areas such as digital transformation, technology transfer, and artificial intelligence (AI), which is sufficient for the nation's income.
He made the remarks when asked whether the Madani Government would consider a second casino or reject it during the special session 'In Conversation With the Prime Minister of Malaysia' at the Doha Economic Forum (DEF) 2024 here today.
The session was moderated by Bloomberg Television's Chief Southeast Asia Correspondent, Haslinda Amin.
Previously, Anwar denied any government plans to open a casino in Forest City, Johor.
This follows international media reports, particularly from Bloomberg, stating that Anwar held meetings with Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay of the Genting Group to discuss the matter.
"It's not true, it's not true. Casino licenses... It's a lie," said Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, to reporters during the Madani Unity Aidilfitri event in Putrajaya on Thursday.
Asked on allegations of investigations and selective prosecutions, including against former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar said all investigations and prosecutions by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are conducted transparently.
They also followed the due process as MACC is an independent agency.
He said investigations by the agency, including those against Mahathir's son, are due to their ownership of assets that they needed to clarify.
"I think they have been treated fairly well (in the investigations), given an extension of time to submit documents requested by the SPRM," he said.