It seems that the saying,”Your best friend Knows bests.He will always be the person to bring you down.Nothing is too small to escape him”PM Najib now has his hands full. What can he not do not to issue the football licence to Berjaya Corporation.? However, whichever he has to betray his closest ally or else he will go the same way as previous top man in History.
Simple PM Najib Remember Ceasar….??
A PM if he is too nice he will suffer the consequences. “THE DOWNFALL….. This way even the English Premier Leagu(EPL) cannot save Berjaya. If PM Najib needs to say no he can say,”What happened to Cardiff City..? Didn’t they promise you PM Najib..??That’s all PM and we are all on your side and if you do that you will be still in power after GE13.
This report is very damaging PM to your Credibility..
Mega-conglomerate Berjaya Corporation has attempted to stitch the lips of its critics, insisting that it has approval from the government to conduct legalised sports betting.
In a statement issued to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the company stood behind its May 12 announcement to the bourse containing their proposal to take over 70 percent of Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd – the company that holds the gambling licence – worth RM525 million in stakes.
“We note that there had been many conflicting discussions about the actual status of the approval given to Ascot to operate sports betting in the country.
“In compliance with the directive from Bursa, we wish to reiterate certain parts of the (May 12) announcement…
“‘It was stated inter-alia that ‘the Minister of Finance has given its approval for the re-issuance to Ascot of the licence to carry out sports betting operations upon certain terms and conditions.
“’In paragraph 8 which listed out the Approvals Required, sub-paragraph (d) stated, ‘The Minister of Finance for the re-issuance of the sports betting licence and the changes in shareholders and directors in Ascot, if required.’”
“As such it is evident from the above statements that Ascot has approval from the finance minister to conduct sports betting operations and that the formal licence – which was first issued in 1987 – is pending re-issuance,” said the one-page statement.
Incidentally, the 70 percent stake in Ascot Sports belongs to Berjaya Corp chairperson Vincent Tan.
Yesterday’s statement breaks a week-long silence on the part of both the government and Berjaya over the issue.
Government officials stonewalling questions on the controversy, along with the sudden cancellation of a press conference yesterday by Minister in charge of Islamic Affairs Jamil Khir Baharom, stirred up speculation that Prime Minister Najib Razak had issued a gag order to his cabinet not to discuss the matter in public.
At the same time, Berjaya officials have also been tight-lipped about the details of the approval, although it is understood that the government had issued the company a ‘letter of approval’ in January.
Ball back in government’s court
The latest move by Berjaya is seen as volleying the ball back into the government’s court, which has appeared to backtrack on its decision to award the licence in the wake of strident public opposition.
The announcement is also seen as quelling investors fears sparked by speculation over whether Berjaya had misled Bursa and the public in its initial announcement.
Industry insiders have, however, said it was highly unlikely that Berjaya would have done so, especially after Tan himself – a battle-hardened business tycoon – gave a rare press conference last Saturday to announce that he would donate the money from his stakes to his Better Malaysia Foundation.
The issue ignited a new round of controversy on Monday when Najib, who is also finance minister, said in a written reply to Batu MP Tian Chua in Parliament that the government had yet to issue the licence to Ascot Sports pending “feedback from the public”.
Ascot Sports was initially granted the licence in 1987, but it proved to be an unprofitable venture before the advent of satellite TV and the Internet in Malaysia.
It was revoked in 2004 under then premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, but it is now “pending re-issuance” as stated by Berjaya.
If issued, sports-betting will come alive in 220 selected Sports Toto – also part of Berjaya’s group of companies – outlets in West Malaysia come September in time for the highly popular English Premier League.
Berjaya also has in its sight plans to offer the service through the telephone, which they had estimated will make up 70 percent of total revenue, with betting on other popular sports apart from football.
The Pakatan Rakyat governments of Penang, Selangor and Kedah have thrown a spanner in the works for Berjaya by banning sports betting in their respective states.
“ITS IN YOUR HANDS PM NAJIB”