MIRI – Casinos are not welcome in Sarawak as they bring more harm than good, local opposition party Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) said.
Its president Voon Lee Shan said there are too many negatives that come with gambling.
“The negatives of a casino in Sarawak will far outweigh whatever economic and monetary gains we get from tourism or business revenue.
“Casinos have the potential to create many social problems that will affect families, causing addictions to gambling that will destroy the incomes of ordinary folks.
“There will be potential long-term effects from loan shark problems, even depression and family break-ups, and such problems have been known to lead to suicides,” he said in a statement.
Voon said there were “wiser ways” to generate revenue for the state than resorting to gambling.
"We already have so many lotteries and lucky draws that waste the lower-income people’s valuable income,” he added.
Voon was reacting to recent Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who said the state government has not outright rejected the idea of a casino in the state.
Karim was reported saying in Kuching recently that opening a casino would create jobs, boost tourism, create spin-offs for many business sectors, and generate revenue in taxes for the state.
Karim added that casinos would be strictly regulated.
If boosting revenue is a concern, Voon said, the state government should focus on getting back all the oil royalty Sarawak had paid to the federal government. – The Vibes, March 23, 2023
