“The government did not issue any directive for an investigation, but because there was a police report, the police initiated an investigation according to standard procedures.“
KUALA LUMPUR, 9th May 2024 – Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil (shown in the image) emphasized that the police inquiry into the news article regarding the proposed casino development in Forest City, Johor, was not instigated by the government. Instead, it originated from a police report filed by a law firm representing a company referenced in the article.
The spokesperson for the Unity Government clarified that Berjaya Corporation Bhd (Berjaya Corp) (KL:BJCORP) filed the police report via its legal representatives, emphasizing that there were no instructions from the government, the Ministry of Communications, or the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
“At the press conference held here on Wednesday, the spokesperson affirmed that the government did not issue any directive for an investigation. However, the police initiated an investigation in accordance with standard procedures due to the presence of a police report,” they stated.
On April 26, it was reported that Berjaya Corp filed a police report against an article from an international news portal. The article claimed that business tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan was engaged in talks with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about establishing a casino in Forest City.
Subsequently, Anwar, Berjaya Corp, and Genting Malaysia Berhad (Genting Malaysia), which were also implicated, refuted the report from the news portal. They called for appropriate measures to be taken against the international media company responsible for the article.
