In June of this year, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that there was political patronage in illegal online gambling activities in Malaysia. This is a serious matter, but the identities of the politicians involved are not revealed.
The MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has since announced that the MACC is currently investigating several politicians and if it is proven (that they are involved) then it will be considered an offence. He has also said that the MACC will not be announcing who these politicians are or which parties they are affiliated with.
We would like to commend the MACC for taking prompt action to begin investigating the (potentially) guilty parties. Illegal online gambling is a profoundly serious matter as it poses an economic and security threat to our country. For our politicians to be actively involved in this is appalling.
It is our hope that the MACC will continue to take this matter seriously and conduct a thorough investigation. The investigation should be completed as soon as possible, and the politicians involved in the cases prosecuted.
Mohideen Abdul Kader
President
Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP)
Press Release, 17 July 2023