KUALA LUMPUR – Berjaya Corporation Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan has denied claims that he participated in discussions relating to a possible casino in Johor’s Forest City.
Tan also refuted “inaccurate claims” presented in the articles published by Bloomberg LP and The Edge Singapore yesterday.
In a statement, Berjaya said the news agencies should publish clarifications and remove “any misleading content from the articles in question across all platforms”.
“We kindly request the cessation of further dissemination of the inaccurate information,” it added.
“The articles in question, titled ‘Malaysia in talks with tycoons on casino to revive $100 billion Forest City’ (Bloomberg LP) and ‘Malaysia mulls casino at Forest City’ (The Edge Singapore), have included inaccurate information that misrepresents our supposed involvement in discussions with Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim regarding the Forest City project.”
Yesterday, Anwar said Putrajaya would not approve any licence for a casino in Forest City, Johor.
Bloomberg’s report said Anwar had met Tan and the Genting Group’s Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay last week to discuss the opening of a casino in Forest City, which is said to be struggling to attract property buyers and investors.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the talks, Bloomberg also said a representative of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, who is Johor’s ruler, was also present, as he is a shareholder in the joint venture with China firm Country Garden as Forest City’s master developer.
The beleaguered US$100 billion (RM480 billion) project, which began in 2006, has been dubbed a “white elephant” by some media.
In August last year, Anwar said Forest City would be made into a special financial zone. This, along with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, would give Malaysia a competitive advantage in attracting foreign investments. – April 26, 2024